Over the past 20 years, the threat of wildfires in Santa
Barbara County has increased dramatically. The Zaca, Thomas, Tea, Jesusita,
Whittier, Rey, Gap, Sherpa, Cave, Holiday, Rucker, La Brea, and Alamo Fires,
among others, have burned tens of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of
homes, and threatened thousands more.
Reducing the human and environmental costs of these fires
requires public agencies, property owners, and citizen organizations to work
together. Joan Hartmann has been a tremendous leader in bringing people
together to improve wildfire protection in our county. As a member of the Board
of Supervisors she has supported important actions such as expanding county
wildland firefighting crews; initiating county-wide fuel modification planning by
County Fire, including major projects to protect communities in the
Lompoc-Mission Hills area; approving a modern dispatch system which will, for the
first time, put all local fire agencies on the same channels; and approving a
state-of-the-art Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the San Marcos Pass
mountain and foothill areas.
Joan has also worked extensively with citizen
organizations including local homeowners’ associations, the Bucket Brigade, and
the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council to promote community wildfire
preparedness. Continuing these kinds of actions requires a supervisor with the
energy and intelligence to learn the issues and work closely with our
professional firefighters and concerned citizens. Wildfires are not going away,
but we can limit the damage they do with responsible leadership, intelligent
planning, community self-help efforts, and effective use of public and private
resources.