Road Clearance Project Gearing Up

We are once again gearing up to help homeowners manage their defensible space along the roadways in the district. Each year we clear nearly 14 miles of road in the City's Extreme Foothill and Foothill High Fire Hazard Areas. Accomplished through the WFSBAD, road clearance helps maintain the roadways open and clear of flammable vegetation to help you, the homeowner, evacuate during and emergency and, in addition, helps firefighting resources maneuver into your area to defend your homes.

For a list and map of roads please refer to our WFSBAD Homepage at:
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Government/Departments/Fire/Wildland-Fire-Suppression-Benefit-Assessment.htm

WFSBAD 1st Goat Project Complete

As a test project utilizing a herd of goats was used to clear a small clearance project along Mountain Drive.

The area owned by the City and zoned for future re-alignment along the 700 block of Mountain drive was unmaintained for years and in need of some work.

The surrounding homeowners and HOA's in the neighborhood have done an excellent job creating there defensible space and we targeted this area to be "cleaned up" in an effort to bring the two together.

In the early part of June we brought in a herd of just under 100 goats, along with their guard dog, for approximately 10 days. The goats did an excellent job of removing dead, opening the understory and limbing up existing trees. After the goats were taken out, a hand crew was brought in to tidy up the project.

This was a very beneficial and cost effective project and we are excited about the opportunity to continue using goat grazing on future projects.

Here are some before and after pictures of the project.