Full Notification

MONTECITO, CA – 5/3/2013 – Yesterday at 11:45 a.m. the Montecito Fire Protection District sent the first of two engines requested to assist Ventura County Fire Department in their battle against the quickly growing wildland fire which began in the Camarillo Springs area.

The first engine was part of a Strike Team of engines sent from Santa Barbara County, comprised of Type One engines from Montecito Fire, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire, and Santa Barbara County Fire, and two from Santa Barbara City Fire.

The second engine responded this morning at 6:30 a.m. as an individual resource. Montecito Fire maintains this specific engine for the Office of Emergency Services (OES). Once it arrives at the incident, it will be married up with four other OES engines to form another Strike Team.

A strike team is comprised of 5 pieces of the same type of equipment and one Leader, or Chief Officer. Both engines Montecito sent will be working as “Structure Defense” engines on the incident.

Overnight the Spring Incident grew to over 10,000 acres, with approximately 10% containment.

This fire spread quickly due to high temperatures, low humidities, high winds, and was exacerbated by early season dry vegetation. This made for a trifecta of dangerous conditions. Montecito residents should take this time, while we do not have all of these conditions present, to evaluate their preparedness levels. We recommend using the Ready! Set! Go! Program.

• Get READY! Create a defensible home. We will provide a free fire safety inspection for Montecito residents and make recommendations on how to make them more fire safe.

• Get SET! Prepare your family. Review you evacuation plan with your family and discuss what you will do if a wildland fire occurs.

• GO Early! If a wildland fire is approaching, leave early! By leaving early, you will give your family the best chance of surviving a wildfire. You also help firefighters by keeping roads clear of congestion, enabling them to move more freely and do their job.

Montecito Fire will be holding a training session on the Ready! Set! Go! Program next week at MFD Station 1: Thursday, 5/9/2013 at 10:00 am.

Montecito Fire District also urges residents to use extra caution while performing your annual fire hazard reduction this year. Many of the tools used to clean around your property can also cause ignition. Perform your work early in the day and make sure your equipment has spark arrestors and non-sparking blades. We also recommend that you have a fire extinguisher on site and available if necessary.

Having defensible space, and being prepared is part of every homeowner’s responsibility. For more information on Wildland Fire Preparedness, or to register for the Ready! Set! Go! training, contact Geri Ventura – 805-969-2537.

The Ready! Set! Go! brochure is available on our website (www.montecitofire.com) and at all Montecito Fire Stations.