Wildfire Defense; Science, Wisdom and Common Sense

Anne-Marie Parkinson, Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800

The Executive Director discusses her background, the job and how she almost didn't take it, and what a perfect fit it has turned out to be.

Contact Ted at ted@paintedcave.com for information about guests or becoming a guest or program critiques. We depend on criticism for one of our main means of improvement. Thanks again for listening...

A Chat with Laura Capps, Supervisor of Second District Santa Barbara County

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0800

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Laura Caps discusses Edison company's interface with local customers and a short discussion on some rural roads

Perspectives on Plannimg, Permiting for Wildfire Protections of Rural Communities in Santa Barbara County

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0800

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Rob Hazard, retired Fire Marshal of Santa Barbara County Fire shares his perspective garnered from hIs decades addressing wildfire in Santa Barbara County.

How wind behavior in the transverse mountain ranges of California affects wildfire

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0800

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Dr. Leila Caravalho, Professor of Climate and Meteorology in the Geography Department at UC Santa Barbara talks with us about the vagaries and effects of wind in Southern Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council's Many Roles in Preparation and Protection from Wildfire and Conflagration

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0700

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Kate Furlong, SBCFSC Community Resilience Program Manager, discusses the role and future of the organization.

Lesser Known Residents of the Chaparral

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0700

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Dr. Christina Sandoval shares her Knowledge of some lesser Known residents of the Chaparral

Our Home Leveled by Wildfire

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 14:00:00 -0700

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Dr. Dennis Clegg talks about evacuating and losing his home in the Thomas Fire

Evacuation Preparation

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0700

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Stephan Doughherty, Montecito Fire Commissioner and member of Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue discuses evacuation preparedness options.

Some History of the Southern California Chaparral Plant Community

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

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UCSB professor Carla D' Antonio shares with us some perspectives on the Chaparral and how it has been effected by the changes in its surroundings over thousands of years,

Steve Davis recalls and expands on his years as a wildland fire boss

Thu, 29 May 2025 14:00:00 -0700

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Years of experience with preparation for and extinguishing wild land fire has given Steve a unique perspective for instructing residents and firefighters in suppression and survival in wild fire

Ray Ford Discusses Wildfire

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0700

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Ray Ford talks about the recent wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena and their ramifications

Chief David Neels Montecito Fire Department

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 14:00:00 -0700

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Chief David Neels of Montecito Fire Department discusses his history in the fire service and directions Montecito is taking now and in the future with wildland fire

Mark Von Tillow, Wildland Fire Specialist, Santa Barbara City Fire Department

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:00:00 -0700

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Mark Von Tillow, veteran fire fighter with more than three decades with the USFS discusses his experience and the changes to wildland fire behavior and suppression he is already seeing and anticipating.

John Ahlman Remembers

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0700

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Santa Barbara City Fire Department Battalion Chief John Ahlman Retired, recalls more than four decades service with three different fire departments

Fire in the Built Environment

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:00:00 -0800

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Santa Barbara County Retired Fire Marshall Rob Hazard talks about Fire on the Urban side of the WUI

Some differences between Northern conifer forest fires and wildland fire in the chaparral

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 14:00:00 -0800

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Dr. D'Antonio,professor and researcher at UC Santa Barbara returns to drill down into the difference between plant communities and their response to wild land fire and how we best protect life and environment within them.

Today scientists consider a broader spectrum of reasons wildfire spreads in different environments

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0800

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Max A. Moritz, Ph.D. Wildfire Specialist at U.C. Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources and Adjunct Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science joins us to discuss how, many factors are responsible for the way wildfires move through various environments. Plant community, weather, building construction, topography, fuel reduction and many other factors contribute to the spread of wildfire and all need to be considered for effective control and containment.

Keeping it together, The great benefits of the lncident Command System

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:00:00 -0700

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Nic Elmquist is the Wildland Fire Specialist at the Montecito Fire District. Nic is a member of an Incident Management Team and travels extensively around the West as he is assigned to different campaign fires. In this edition of Surviving Disaster one of the things he explains is the Incident Command System and its benefits

Safely Sharing the Chaparral

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:00:00 -0700

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In this episode of Surviving Disaster we are joined by Carla D'Antonio PHD, Professor of Ecology in Environmental Studies at UCSB. We are broadly discussing the controlled impacts of fire on the chaparral and the people who choose to share it.

Rob Hazard Retired Fire Marshall SB County Fire Department

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:00:00 -0700

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Ted and Rob discuss wildfire behavior, defensible space zones, home hardening

Bendy White Remembers: Decades of fire history in Santa Barbara County

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 18:00:00 -0700

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Bendy White, a well known and respected member of the community in Santa Barbara talks with us about his family's relationship with fire and chaparral since their purchase of some acreage above Mountain Drive in the 20's
He talks about the formation and founders of the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council in the 1990's and the concept of bringing home owners and the emergency service personnel together to make wildfire suppression a safer and more successful ordeal for everyone by organizing and educating community members was new and controversial. A very interesting and informative hour.

Gary Warkentin CAO Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 09:00:00 -0700

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Gary Warkentin Chief Administrative Officer for Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department joins us for a broad discussion of his history, work, direction and aspiration in his position

Ray Ford Remembers and Rhapsodizes

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 19:00:00 -0700

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Ray Ford, teacher, back country expert, author, photographer and journalist shares his life through the 70s forward

Chief Rob Hazard recently retired Fire Marshal Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0700

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Recently Retired Fire Marshall Santa Barbara County Fire Department Chief Rob Hazard talks with us about his more than 35 years in the fire service with emphasis in this episode on wild fire evacuation by automobile.

Communication Conversation

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:00:00 -0700

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The pros and cons of today's communication systems

Lake Fire

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:00:00 -0700

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Ongoing large fire in Santa Barbara back country

Fire Season begins

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 14:00:00 -0700

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Ted and Mike discuss wild fires in California

Access, road maintenance and clearence

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 14:00:00 -0700

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Problems and solutions with Access in rural areas