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Mudslide risk seen as low City officials convene after Loma Fire
COURTESY PHOTO
Dan Oh and his son Tyler stand outside Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital’s drive-through vaccine clinic. Tyler was the first of his friends to get his first dose.
Families discuss youth vaccination By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Though the Loma Fire scorched about nine acres of land on TV Hill last week, officials say the risk for mudslides in the area remains low as Santa Barbara heads into summer.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Though the burn scar of the Loma Fire looms large over Loma Alta Drive, the risk of a mudslide coming from the area remains very low as Santa Barbara heads into the summer, city officials said Thursday. In the aftermath of last week’s fire, Santa Barbara officials are in discussion over what can be done to support the private property owners whose homes were impacted by the flames. The fire scorched about nine acres of land near the Mesa, and a group of city and county officials met at the site of the fire on Thursday to assess the damage.
Though the fire destroyed vegetation and left ash littered across the soil, Acting Public Works Director Joshua Haggmark said the risk of a mudslide or debris flow remains very low in the area, particularly as Santa Barbara’s rainy season remains months away. “We don’t think there’s a threat to public health, certainly no immediate threat to public health, and we’re going to be doing our due diligence to work with private property owners to come up with a plan to make any changes we need to make before next year’s rainy season, which if it’s like this year, then there’s nothing to worry about,” Mr. Haggmark told the News-Press. Please see DEBRIS on A10
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RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
“Solutions to homelessness require the combined efforts of national, state and local governments in partnership with community organizations, faith communities and local businesses,” said 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart of the city’s homeless encampment abatement efforts.
In light of a new effort to address homeless encampments due to the fire risk they pose, citywide and countywide discussions have begun on how to collaborate to keep the community safe. The Santa Barbara County fire chief assembled a task force — composed of representatives from all of the fire departments in the county — to develop recommendations on how to best reduce the risk of fires starting in homeless encampments. The County Board of Supervisors will hear these recommendations in the next month, according to 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart. “Fire season is now year round,” the supervisor told the News-Press. “As the brush
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Barbara is a willing partner with any jurisdiction that wants to implement creative solutions to homelessness in their community.” The county’s Project Roomkey site has been able to take dozens of individuals off the streets and place them in temporary housing over the pandemic. The supervisor provided another solution as well — the Housing Authority. He said more than 225 new Section 8 housing vouchers were allocated to the Housing Authority for the City of Santa Barbara and the county from the federal government. The vouchers can be used to pay rent for people experiencing homelessness who want to come indoors. Mr. Hart said any landlords who have vacant apartments and are interested in working with the
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Thespians will make their long awaited return to the stage this summer as the Pacific Conservatory Theatre gears up for live shows under the stars at the outdoor Solvang Festival Theater. PCPA will present “Together — A Musical Journey” from July 21 through Aug. 8 and “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” from Aug. 19 through Sept. 5, both live on stage at the Solvang Festival Theater. This will be the first time in over a year that a live audience will be welcomed to the outdoor stands of the Solvang Festival Theater, and after the hiatus, the actors are itching for their curtain call. “Eager is not a strong enough word,” Mark Booher, the artistic director of PCPA, said during a virtual announcement on Tuesday.
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Karole Foreman will take the stage to portray Billie Holiday in PCPA’s performance of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” this summer, marking the theater’s return to the stage this summer.
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dries out from the summer heat, wildfire ignition from human causes is even more dangerous … Implementing these recommendations (from the task force) will be our highest fire safety priority.” Mr. Hart chairs the Elected Officials Regional Collaborative on Homelessness. He said the collaborative has been meeting to develop a joint agency approach to addressing homeless encampments throughout the county. He added that there is a consensus developing among elected officials, in that each city and district in the county has a shared responsibility to provide locations to house residents experiencing homelessness. “I believe the best way we can solve this very complex issue is by working together,” Mr. Hart said. “The County of Santa
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PCPA prepares for theater under the stars
Roads near Loma Alta remain closed following last Thursday’s fire.
Collaborating on encampment abatement efforts By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
Youth ages 12-15 have been able to receive the Pfizer vaccine for just over two weeks now, and families are having the talk — the COVID-19 vaccination talk, that is. Parents, even those enthusiastic about the vaccine, are waiting for their children to decide the right moment to get vaccinated. Cottage Health has administered first doses to 2,667 youth ages 12-15, as of Thursday morning. There are approximately 4,800 people ages 12-15 in Goleta and Santa Barbara combined, according to U.S. Census data. “Every family is having their individual battle,” said Christy Philip, an emergency room nurse at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital who has been working the vaccine clinic at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. She has three kids, ages 14, 16 and 18. Two have been vaccinated, and she’s letting her
16-year-old son wait and ponder his decision. She was a bit nervous about admitting that she, as a frontline worker, has an unvaccinated child. But then she thought, it might be encouraging to families mulling over their options as well. “I think there are a lot of rumors, and there are a lot of kids hesitant to get the vaccine because of what they’re reading online,” she told the NewsPress. She encourages parents to talk with their children about the vaccine and seek reliable sources, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Families can also talk with their pediatrician, she said. “It’s not that I think that it should be all the children’s decisions, but I think the world has been so scary and weird that it’s good to give them space to process,” she said. Her 18-year-old son, a freshman in college at the
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