By Brian Johnson
2021 President
Santa Barbara Association of Realtors
It was May of 2009 and the Jesusita Fire was quickly spreading through the hills above San Roque and threatening to cross Foothill Road in several areas, potentially turning catastrophic. We raced to evacuate the area and headed to Los Angeles to stay with friends. In what felt like a sign of sympathy to our situation, the Grateful Dead played “Fire on the Mountain” at their May 9 show at the Forum. That fire ended up burning almost 9,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 80+ homes. It does not even come close to the impact from the Thomas Fire or other historic fires but it was the first one that caused us to evacuate so it will always stand out in my mind.
Summer is almost here and that means fire season is here as well. New laws are going into effect this summer that will affect homes sold in the high or very high fire severity zones. A good bit of Santa Barbara falls into those zones and that means that homes being sold will have to provide documentation that they are in compliance with maintaining a defensible space or “buffer zone” between the home and flammable materials such as grass, trees or wildland areas around the property.