Thomas Fire spurs change in procedure

In light of the gamut of natural disasters that have rocked the Santa Barbara and Ventura County areas, new safety procedures are planned to be implemented.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, since 1932, California has had 20 major wildfires, all burning more than 100,000 acres of land. Eight of these wildfires have occurred in Southern California, most notably being centered around the Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties. Of these fires, the Thomas Fire was the largest in recent history, burning over 280,000 acres.

The Thomas Fire began Dec. 4, 2017, and was fully contained Jan. 12, 2018. In the month the fire burned, it consumed roughly 280,000 acres, and destroyed over 1,000 buildings. In addition to the damage the fire itself caused, it also led to destruction by mudslides.

The mudslides came as the fire burned the brush and killed the organic material that kept the hillsides and mountainsides stable. With a severe rainfall in Montecito on Jan. 9, the combination of these two factors caused massive mudslides.

“With more than one inch of rain falling in a 15-minute period, and no vegetation to help the ground absorb that much water, creeks and tributaries soon over spilled their banks and created the energy that moved four-ton boulders and millions of tons of debris downhill,” United States Forest and Fire representative Andrew Madsen wrote to the Talon.

In response to the mudslides, the Santa Barbara emergency authority issued mandatory and voluntary evacuation warnings. Despite these warnings, only 10 to 15 percent of those in the mandatory evacuation zone actually evacuated. Over 20 people were killed in the mudslides.

Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said that, of the casualties, six were in voluntary evacuation zones, 11 were along the border of the mandatory-voluntary evacuation area and four were in mandatory evacuation zones.

The Santa Barbara County emergency authorities announced that for future mudslides and wildfires the terminology “voluntary evacuations” would be replaced by “new evacuation terminology such as ‘pre-evacuation advisory,’ ‘recommended evacuation warning’ and ‘mandatory evacuation order.’” When people in mandatory evacuation zones chose not to evacuate, they were trapped and buried by the mudslides.

In addition to changing the nature of the warnings, the county of Santa Barbara is working to better prepare its communities for future issues.

“The County of Santa Barbara is working with county residents to develop plans to prepare their communities in the event of another significant rain event,” Madsen wrote. “The Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response team works with the local counties to share [the] best science for the counties to work with their residents.”

According to senior Vinay Adabala, a Simi Valley resident, the changes are for the better.

“I live in Simi, so I only got a voluntary evac warning, and I know a lot of people who just ignored the warning because they thought the fire would not get to them,” Adabala said. “I have family in Santa Barbara, and it’s definitely a good thing to give people something to know that they are actually in danger. [It’s] not a suggestion, it’s a firm statement. And I think for serious things [where lives are at risk], you really need that.”

Junior Rasjot Singh agreed.

“The thing is, we live in a calm place where we don’t have too many issues or trouble. And when these things do happen, people just disregard them because they don’t realize that there is urgency there,” Singh said. “So if they can convey that urgency, I think that they can help a lot of people out.”

In addition to wildfires, California also faces threats from earthquakes and tsunamis.

According to the California Office for Emergency Services, “More than 70 percent of California’s population resides within 30 miles of a fault where high ground shaking could occur in the next 50 years.  Statewide, approximately 22 million people live in the 40 percent or higher seismic hazard zone. In 17 counties, more than 90 percent of the population lives in the 40 percent peak ground acceleration or higher seismic hazard zone.”

With these earthquakes come potential tsunami threats. The COES writes that, “Depending on the location of an incident, a tsunami can reach the California coast in as little as ten minutes or take up to 12 hours.  The Alaskan earthquake of 1964 generated a tsunami that killed 12 people in Crescent City, California.”

The state attempts to address all of these natural disasters on multiple levels. COES considers five different levels when managing a natural disaster: the state level, the regional level, the operational area, the local government and the field level. These five levels work together to address the logistics, operations, planning and finances regarding the disaster.

While the authorities are working to improve reaction and response to these natural disasters, Madsen said that it is critical that citizens do their part and stay aware.

“There isn’t much that can be done. We live in a fire-adapted ecosystem that has routinely burned over the course of the last 10,000 years and will continue to do so,” Madsen said. “Residents who elect to buy homes in these areas must be aware of this cycle of fire, floods and regrowth, and take the necessary steps to best prepare themselves and their property for the possibility of future debris flows.”