It is difficult to articulate the terror of escaping fire. In the aftermath many find their homes decimated — still smoldering with the remains of their lives. The number of Santa Barbara residents who've experienced the panic, fear, and trauma that follows such a catastrophic event has, unfortunately, grown since my experience during 1990's Paint Fire. But many communities in the wildland-urban areas are writing or have written a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) to prepare their neighborhoods against wildfire. The most recent, for the areas along State Route 154, has encountered a disingenuous argument from former CWPP participants.
Most structures in the path of the Paint Fire were built with highly combustible material and little defensible space. These same homes have been rebuilt in compliance with updated building codes to increase their chance of survival during the next fire. Homeowners have also become educated on how to harden their homes to be more fire resistant.
Unfortunately, not everyone has learned from the past. County planners continue to allow new subdivisions in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) without adequate egress, resources, or community fuel breaks. Life, habitat, critical infrastructure, and property are at risk when firefighters have limited access and nowhere to stage a defense. Community fuel breaks near the wildland urban interface provide necessary space for firefighters to do their job.