The Art and Science of a Prescribed Burn
Firefighters, Ranchers Team Up to Train and Make Santa Barbara County Safer
Credit: Mike Eliason/S.B. County Fire
It’s 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 26, and 50 or so firefighters in navy-blue dress-downs are gathered in a small clearing on the Chamberlin Ranch just outside Los Olivos. They sip coffee and chat about their kids and the Dodgers as a pair of magpies hop and squawk along nearby fence posts.
There’s a light fog in the air and barely a breeze. Afternoon temperatures won’t get above 75 degrees. Perfect conditions to start a few fires.
The circle of men and women draws tighter as Anthony Stornetta, a Santa Barbara County Fire Department battalion chief, starts his briefing. The purpose of the prescribed burn scheduled for that day and the next is twofold, he explains.
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