A Santa Ynez Valley community is taking wildfire prevention into its own hands after insurance premiums skyrocketed from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars annually following the Lake Fire in 2024.
Ryan Smith, a founding member of the Santa Ynez Wildland Association, says insurance rates have spiked dramatically since 2024, with many neighbors losing fire insurance altogether. The community has seen premiums jump up to $50,000 annually.
"It becomes a point where it's no longer feasible for them to have fire insurance," Smith said.
The Firewise-certified community formed the Santa Ynez Wildland Association with plans to build a rural fire station and resource center. The group emphasizes that their efforts will complement, not replace, existing emergency services.
"Santa Barbara County Fire Department will still be our primary response agency out here for fires, and anything that we do will be a complement to that," Smith said.
Beyond the fire station, the association wants to provide insurers with better local data to more accurately assess fire risk in the area.
"We know our risk and for us to aggregate that data, it's a way to help out and do our part," said Wildland Association Founder Ryan Hotchkis. "We see this as a win for insurers to help bring availability back to our community with a path to affordability in the future."
Mitigation efforts are already underway throughout the community. Cattle graze to keep grass levels low, residents clear brush on their properties, and fire hydrants have been installed across the area.
"And when you look around and you see 20 acres of grassland that's been grazed by cattle, you think, where is the risk?" Hotchkis said.
A site for the fire station is still being evaluated, but it would be located within a 10-mile radius with a goal of achieving a five-minute response time for the area. The project will incorporate advancing technology, including artificial intelligence.
"And then to include the integration of technology, which, as we know, is changing rapidly, particularly with AI involvement. Then, taking all that and putting it together, to make this community safer and mitigate the threats of wildfire," Smith said.
There is no timeline yet for construction.
