"I've been through several major fires. I kind of feel like if it was going to burn, it would have burned already," said Santa Barbara resident Court Finchbaugh.
Finchbaugh lives off Cliff Drive near Elings Park and says he’s never been worried about fire, but after the release of new state fire hazard maps, he’s having second thoughts.
"I do feel now that if the park did catch fire and it was super windy, that yeah, could be a problem," Finchbaugh said.
The new state maps expanded fire hazard zones into Finchbaugh’s neighborhood on the Mesa, especially near Cliff Drive and Flora Vista. The area is now considered moderate to high hazard severity.
"You know, unfortunately, if you've lived in Southern California for any amount of time, you've seen fire," said Santa Barbara Fire Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal Ryan Diguilio.
Diguilio says the state hasn’t updated fire maps in more than 10 years, so a change was a long time coming. Now, with the new hazard areas identified, the city plans to merge the state map with its Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which already includes areas like Elings Park.
Other new areas include northern parts of San Roque and La Cumbre, which are now considered high to very high hazard severity.
"I think what Palisades and Eaton taught us is that houses become fuel sources, not just the vegetation, and those houses have a much bigger impact than an open space. And so, when those [flames] are transmitting from house to house to house, and you have an urban conflagration now, it's not a wildland fire anymore. It's something that we're not used to seeing," Diguilio said.
He says it’s important to be proactive about brush clearing and home hardening upgrades if you live in a fire zone. He says any new developments in the area will have more stringent building codes.
"We want to be a good neighbor to our citizens, so we're asking the citizens to partner with us and do your vegetation clearance and your property, get that defensible space up, and harden your home with upgrades," Diguilio said.
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