Tag archives: firefighters

Last Wednesday, December 11, Montecito Association’s Beautification Committee along with Montecito firefighters and kids from Montecito Union School, upheld an over 50-year tradition of decorating the community tree. As mentioned in the Letters to the Editor section of last week’s edition, the festive holiday tradition was born in the early 1960s thanks to then Montecito […]

Last week, Kelly Mahan Herrick‘s feature “Village Beat” piece laid out in detail how Southern California Edison plans to cut off power to certain areas depending upon wind strength and the level of danger Santa Ana and/or Sundowner winds pose to those in fire zones. As a follow-up, I conducted a short interview with Santa […]

At a board meeting on Monday, June 24, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed Division Chief of Operations Kevin Taylor as the next Fire Chief of the Montecito Fire Department. “I appreciate the faith and confidence the Board has placed in me to lead this fantastic organization,” Chief Taylor said to a […]

Next Wednesday, January 16, the Partnership for Resilient Communities and Montecito Union School’s superintendent Anthony Ranii will host an informational community meeting to discuss realistic opportunities to mitigate future debris flows.  In late December, the Partnership received emergency permits to proceed with the installation of 11 debris flow control nets in San Ysidro, Buena Vista, […]

Longtime Montecito resident Jeremy Harper has painted a work of our rarefied enclave’s historic fire station to mark the first anniversary of the fire and mudslide disasters, which has also been turned into a time-lapse video work commissioned by The Cheese and Wine Store’s Patrick Braid. Jeremy, who attended Montecito Union School – where he […]

Tremendous prayer support and outstanding work by firefighters have kept Westmont safe. The college remained on mandatory evacuation through Wednesday, December 20, as firefighters mopped up hot spots from the firestorm. On December 16, winds blew the Thomas Fire toward campus. Engines and firefighters actively worked to protect the campus and have put out a […]

Montecito resident Christie Jenkins has produced 200 boxes of special holiday cards, the sale of which will go to support the Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation.  Jenkins, like many Montecito residents, was evacuated from her home during the Thomas Fire, just months after moving to the area after closing her fine photography gallery in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Jenkins […]

On a personal note, I mark the passing of Gene Sinser, a former director of the Montecito Fire District, at the age of 86. Born and educated in Germany, coming to the U.S. in 1953, Gene and his wife, Patty DeDominic, moved to Solvang two years ago after nearly two decades in our rarefied enclave, […]

After inviting Montecito firefighters to her home a year ago during the Thomas Fire, former Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres followed up by having them come to her Burbank based studio for her popular eponymous TV talk show. “It was quite a day,” says local realtor Diana MacFarlane, whose son, Dan is pictured third from the […]

The Coral Casino suffered major social gridlock when the Montecito Firefighter’s Charitable Foundation threw its 101st anniversary Thanksgiving celebration with the 250 guests raising more than $150,000. Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner, who owns the oceanside venue, was honored with a community hero award, as were Abe Powell of the Bucket Brigade, Taiana Giefer of […]

Alex, a younger Robert De Niro lookalike, was born 51 years ago in Queens, New York, in August 1967. He moved to Santa Barbara in 1970 with his parents and that’s where he grew up. His father owned an antique shop on Coast Village Road, and his mother worked at Churchill Jewelers on State Street. […]

On Tuesday, October 30, Montecito Fire Protection District hosted a special awards ceremony at Montecito Union School. The formality was to honor two MFPD firefighters for their courage and bravery during the January 9 debris flow. Wildland specialist Maeve Juarez and firefighter/paramedic Andrew Rupp were each given a Medal of Valor award, which is the […]

Lucas Grant, our 31-year-old Steve McQueen lookalike, seems as though he would be just as comfortable stepping into a Formula One as he would a fire engine. He was born and raised in San Luis Obispo with older sister, Ashley. He played lots of sports growing up, mainly basketball, baseball, and football. He developed great […]

Something smells at the Montecito Sanitary District, and its not coming from the sewage. On Monday, October 15, Warner Owens, a long-time, never-elected member of the Sanitary Board announced his resignation, effective immediately. Less than 24 hours later, the “Notice of Vacancy in Office” was posted “By Order Of the Board of Directors of the […]

Thirty-six-year-old Shawn Whilt is the second of Montecito’s heroes that I am fortunate enough to interview. Shawn, a younger, handsome Tom Hanks-ish kind of guy with blue, blue eyes is a Santa Barbara Native. He was born here, went to Santa Barbara High, Santa Barbara City College, and then UCSB.  He was active in sports […]

As those of you who have read my column know, I have written about people who are still thriving and doing what they love in the third and fourth chapters of their lives. For the next few weeks, however, I am going to write about five of Montecito’s firefighters who literally saved our lives in […]

The Montecito Fire Protection District is hosting two meetings next week to discuss wildfires. The first will be a review of the 2017 Thomas Fire and the Department’s Wildland Fire Program, and the second will be a discussion about climate change and its effects on wildfires. On Wednesday, October 17, MFPD will present a report […]

Santa Barbara County firefighters are blazing a trail with their first Foam Fest in Carpinteria on Saturday, with a foam board surf contest followed by a benefit concert at the Padaro Beach Grill with local groups King Zero and Cornerstone. The boffo beach bash, with costumes encouraged, is being organized by Santa Barbara district attorney […]

TV talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey gave Montecito first responders her seal of approval when she attended the unveiling of a new U.S. Postal Service stamp. It includes a firefighter in red, a police officer in blue, and a paramedic in white, paying tribute to emergency personnel across America. The ceremony, with Oprah unveiling the stamp […]

At a special board meeting on Tuesday, May 29, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors recognized every one of its employees for their performance during the Thomas Fire and subsequent mudflow. The firefighters and support staff, who helped navigate the successful rescue of 800+ community members following the mudflow event, were on-duty nearly […]