Before and After

Due to the large amounts of photography taken on our recent project it has taken me some time to go through all of the pictures. Pictures are a great way to showcase what it is that is accomplished through our projects and I can't wait to highlight some of that work here on this blog for you. With that said, I am going to be posting some quick before and afters here on the blog from time to time.

Here is some work that was recently done along Mountain Drive.

Before



After



Before

After

Chipping for Lower Riviera Starts March 5

Get ready, here we come! Our first chip area starts March 5th. Property owners can begin to set out brush for us to chip as long as it doesn't interfere with through traffic. If it put out according to our instructions we will take as much as you can give us.

We are all working towards making our community more fire safe!

Who Does The Work?

We often get asked who does the work on our projects. Is it the City? Firefighters? Hand crews? Contracted Crews?

The work on all of our current projects is contracted with private, local companies. From time to time, however, we have been known to utilize the Cal Fire Youth Authority Hand crews out of the Ventura Camp on a few of our early projects.

Here is a breakdown of which crews are on our projects:
     • Hillcrest Road Vegetation Management Project
           Wilson Environmental Landscape Design.
               **Project was sub-contracted to Branch Out Tree Care
     • Las Tunas/Mountain Drive Vegetation Management Project
            Terry Peterson Enterprises
     • Vegetation Road Clearance
            Peterson Tree Care
     • Defensible Space Chipping
            Terry Peterson Enterprises

We are fortunate to have great crews who are all very hard working. They strive to provide the property owners of the district with the most professional work possible.

First of Four Community Fuels Reduction Projects Complete

What is a Community Fuels Reduction Project? It is comprised of four vegetation management units that were selected to be treated through the recently awarded grant project.

Funding for the four project areas is provided by a National Fire Plan grant from Cooperative Fire Program of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Pacific Southwest Region, thorugh the California Fire Safe Council.

Through these projects, our goal is to modify the existing vegetation to change fire behavior and improve the survivability and safety of both lives and property within Santa Barbara's foothill high fire hazard areas. Work through these projects occurs outside of a property owners required defensible space area and require that property owners maintain the work that was completed.

The four grant project areas include Las Tunas/Mountain Drive; Hillcrest Road; Coyote/Westmont/Circle Drive; and Eucalyptus Hill. Over the past 18 months, the fire department has worked very closely with over 200 property owners who are within the project boundaries. Actual work on the ground began on the Las Tunas/Mountain Drive and Hillcrest Projects this past fall with the remaining two areas expected to be finished during the fall of 2012.



Before and After of a large, overgrown and unmaintained hedge.



Last week marked the full completion of the Hillcrest Road project. This was our largest vegetation managment unit project area completed since the start up of the Wildland Fire Suppression Assessment District. Over the past 6 months we treated 12.77 acres, performed actual work on 40 properties and havd a per-acre cost of $5,068.77. This doesn't include, however, all of the hard work that the property owners have put in to strengthen the area within their defensible space. In addition to the work being performed through the grant, defensible space chipping services were provided to property owners as an additional incentive.

Each week we see more and more property owners fully understand what defensible space means and taking steps towards insuring that they meet the City's requirements. The neighborhoods that run along Mission Ridge, Hillcrest Road and Franceschi Road are looking great and the fire department is very glad to have had the opportunity to work with everyone involved.

Opening "boxed canopies" on Franceschi Road

Get Ready for Chipping

Annual chipping services will be provided again this spring to property owners within the Wildland Fire Suppression Assessment District.

Chipping services are provided to encourage property owners to create defensible space and provide a cost effective way to dispose of cut material. As long as property owners adhear to the posted chipping schedule (below) and place vegetation out according to the designated chipping area they are located in we will dispose of the material at no cost. The chip area map is located on the inside front cover of the newsletter that was sent out in January, on our website or by clicking here. For any questions related to which chipping area you are located in please call us at 965-5254.

March 5    - Lower Riviera
March 12  - Sycamore Canyon/Las Alturas
March 19  - Eucalyptus Hill
March 26  - Las Tunas
April 9       - San Roque/Ontare
April 23    - Las Canoas
May 7       - Sheffield/Parma
May 21     - Westmont/Circle
May 29     - Coyote Road
June 11    - West Mountain

There are very specific requirements of what can be chipped. Vegetation that does not meet these requirements will not be chipped and will be the responsibility of the property owner to dispose of.

The following chipping instructions need to be followed:

• Cut vegetation should be laid out in a pile along the street area outside of the drivable roadway.
• The cut end of all vegetation must face the street so contractors can easily handle material.
• Brush should be left in long lengths (4-7 feet). It is much easier to chip.
• Branches should be no greater than 10 inches in diameter.
• Material in plastic bags will not be picked up.Twine or string must not be used to tie vegetation.
• Rocks or other debris will not be chipped.
• Long piles OK as long as they are not over 4 feet in height.
• Old dead vegetation that has been lying around for years cannot be chipped (this type of vegetation damages chipper blades).
• Pine needles or other leaf litter cannot be chipped.
• Piles pushed or moved by mechanical means, i.e. tractor, cannot be chipped.
• Grasses, palm fronds, succulents or agaves will not be chipped.

Road Clearance Program Completed

Our annual vegetation road clearance program was another success this year. With the help of Peterson's Tree Care, a private contractor, we were able to perform vegetation road clearance on 14.5 miles of roadways throughout our district!!

All in all, the roads throughout the district are looking great. Now that every road has been treated, we are in much more of a maintenance phase with this project. Homeowners are still required, on an annual basis, to insure that their vegetation does not block the flow of traffic and that all dead vegetation is removed. Because we are on roughly a 3 year rotation we need some help with maintenance in between our visits.

This year we were able to tackle some of the bigger roadside hazard problems such as tall/overgrown hedges, dense flammable vegetation and large dead tree removals.

We appreciate all of the cooperation and patience with homeowners as we completed this work. You may find a list of the roads that were treated through this years program by visiting the WFSAD Road Clearance website.

Before - East Las Tunas Road



After - East Las Tunas Road



Stay posted for a list of the roads that will be completed starting fall of 2012. And, as always, if you feel that there is any road that should be addressed, please contact us at 564-5737