DOC Team Receives Prestigious CAL FIRE Award for Work with Thomas Fire

Several of our staff were recently awarded by CAL FIRE for Superior Accomplishment for their emergency post-fire mapping efforts during the tragic Thomas fire and ensuing mudslide in Montecito last year. The Thomas fire started on December 4, 2017. It ignited on the south-facing hillslopes along State Route 150 above Santa Paula, and burned west…

Fire and Rain … and Debris Flows

Fire and Rain … and Debris Flows That’s what happened last January in Santa Barbara County. One of California’s largest wildfires, the Thomas Fire, was nearly 100 percent contained after five weeks. Two people died and more than 1,000 structures burned. Flames torched 281,893 acres. Then a band of thunderstorms arrived the morning of January…