Santa Barbara County Fire Receives $990,000 Cal Fire Grant for Vegetation Management

• Grant Amount: $990,000
• Funding Agency: Cal Fire (Wildfire Prevention Grants Program)
• Recipient Agency: Santa Barbara County Fire Department
• Project Scope: ~3,113 acres of vegetation management
• Primary Location: Los Alamos and Santa Ynez Valleys
• Lead Agency: Santa Barbara County Fire Department

On October 8, 2025, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department was awarded a $990,000 grant from Cal Fire's Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. The funding supports the Santa Barbara Vegetation Management Program, which aims to treat approximately 3,113 acres in the Los Alamos and Santa Ynez Valleys. An initial 1,819-acre prescribed burn at the Sedgwick Preserve is planned for fall 2025 as the project's first phase.

The funding, part of the state's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Strategy and supported by Cap-and-Trade proceeds, was awarded for the "Santa Barbara Vegetation Management Program (VMP) and Ignition Prevention Project." With the county fire department as the lead agency, the project targets areas with a history of large wildfires to enhance community safety and resilience.

The project plans call for treating approximately 3,113 acres within the State Responsibility Area using prescribed fire and roadside fuel reduction. The first action will be a 1,819-acre prescribed fire within the Sedgwick Preserve. Other methods include establishing agricultural fuel breaks and additional vegetation treatments designed to reduce hazardous, old-growth fuel loads and create strategic barriers to slow the spread of catastrophic wildfires.

This grant complements Santa Barbara County's broader, three-pronged fuel reduction strategy, which integrates broadcast burning, creating defensible space around communities, and large-scale mechanical clearing of hazardous vegetation. The initiative builds upon previous efforts, including the Lompoc Valley Phase II and Spaulding-Midland Prescribed Fire projects, to create a network of reduced-fuel zones that improve public and firefighter safety.