Here to Serve

By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Posted on 12/24/2008

The focus has turned to the erosion problem in the burn area, and the investigation continues.

It’s a cool morning at Fire Station 7 in the foothills of Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara City Fire public information officer John Ahlman is ruminating over the recent news that officials have declared fire season a year-round phenomenon.

Jute matting is fastened to a charred hillside to help prevent erosion. The bare dirt on steep s… Continue

MARCI WORMSER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
December 17, 2008 7:04 AM

The six monastic brothers who resided at the Mount Calvary Monastery and Retreat House in the hills above Santa Barbara have been left in a state of limbo since the monastery burned to the ground in the Tea Fire last mo… Continue

SCOTT STEEPLETON, NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR December 10, 2008 12:00 AM

A Santa Barbara family is asking for just one thing this Christmas: to have their 11-year-old Border Collie mix back.

Sally was last seen Nov. 13, the day the Tea Fire started, on La Paz Road.

Her human companions,… Continue

SCOTT STEEPLETON, NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

December 9, 2008 6:57 AM

The holidays could look especially bleak to the children whose homes were destroyed in the Tea Fire. At Cold Spring School, where 16 families lost it all to the 1,940-acre blaze, parents are hoping to make some of those children's wishes come true.

"We're trying to get a Christmas present to every child who lost all their belongings," said Dina Barton, who chairs the Wish List Committee at the nearly 200-student campus.

"… Continue

By Starshine Roshell

One minute you’re curling up with a cup of tea. The next you’re dashing for your life. When a wildfire howls up your hillside, instinct tells you just what to do: Drop the teacup and run.

But what if you had time to grab an armful of valuables? Or cram a crate full of them? Or even pack a whole car?

Whether you lost your home in the Tea Fire, or know someone who did — or came no closer than wringing your hands and recoiling at the smell of blazing, far-off neighborhoods i… Continue