Anonymous
Update by edhat staff
A motorhome (RV) caught fire inside Eling’s Park on Saturday evening.
Edhat readers reported hearing sirens before 10:00 p.m. in the 1500 block of W. Valerio where the road deadends into the park.
The motorhome appears to belong to Eling’s park host who lives on site. The park host escaped the fire through the window and did not sustain any injuries but their cat reportedly died in the fire, reports John Palminteri.
Santa Barbara City Firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
Video by John Palminteri
By an edhat reader
Does anyone know why there were a bunch of fire trucks heading up W. Valerio towards Eling’s Saturday night?
A long time resident of W Valerio Street, I have watched with concern over the past five or six years as more and more of these “hosts“ are allowed to park and live in their vehicles. It is one thing to have one “host”, but Elings has takenadvantage of that unofficial designation in order to bring in some $$. They are not a public park, and they are not a licensed or regulated mobile home park. Thus, concerns about electricity, sanitation and other issues have been on the minds of neighbors for a while. Some of the hosts are very fine people and I have nothing against them. It is really the City of SB, and the Elings Board that needs to begin to exercise appropriate oversight and Code Enforcement
Sanitation enforcement at Elings Park? That’ll be challenging considering the grounds are essentially used as a toilet for dogs…
What happened at Elings Park last night, was that a person lost their entire home. Their family keepsakes, their animal, their belongings. I would hope that people please keep their responses respectful.
Camp hosts at Elings do not just lock a gate. Every host has a full schedule in helping run the beautiful park. Hosts volunteer and the park does not make money from a host nor is it running a small RV Park.
Please note that people who live full time in RV’s shouldn’t be held with a stigma that we have sanitation issues. I can assure you, my 200 square foot house is clean, well maintained and I bathe myself regularly. My sanitation is never an issue. Just because our homes have wheels and might have a smaller square footage, does not mean that we aren’t equal to those who decided to live in a more conventional structure. We don’t live in our vehicles, we live in a fully functioning house. As far as electricity consumption, living tiny produces a significantly lower carbon footprint than the average home. Some run on solar.
Unfortunate events happen, residents homes catch on fire (ones with 4 set walls and ones with 4 wheels). To turn such a tragic evening into a debate on whether or not there should be staff fulltime at a park near your neighborhood is quite sad.
There are multiple facets that go into running a park. Elings has over 230 acres to maintain. I hope that the residents nearby enjoy this wonderful park, appreciate the staffs hard work, and respect the hosts and their personal choices in living.
-fellow Full-time RV’er
Well there is always someone who will turn someone else’s misfortune into an outrage campaign with a political agenda against them. I suspect 2:50PM just has it in for anyone living in an RV as essentially homeless. For shame.
So well said, 4:55. Thank you.
Valerio is an access point to the backside of Eling’s. Not for public vehicles but for park maintenance, emergency vehicles, etc. Park hosts live on the property and keep an eye on the place, enforcing rules and locking the gate at night etc.
RV owners pay a vehicle license fee which is based on the alleged value of the RV in part. This is a property tax. If the implication of your question is that they are getting away with something, so to speak, that is absurd. Vehicles decline in value over time whereas real property almost always increases.
Luvaduck-RV owners pay a vehicle tax each year based on the value. Last I heard Mobile Homes in a park pay property taxes on the dwelling like homeowners. Then, of course, the mobile park owner pays property taxes on the property value.
So sorry for this host, home gone and pet died. State Parks all have hosts who live in their RVs, no need to condemn Elings for doing the same. In Carpinteria there are hosts for each camp area.
Curious: Do RV-homes pay property tax as do attached homes? If so, is it calculated by square footage? Does living permanently in a “mobile” home park make any difference, maybe like living in an apartment and the property owner handles it?
I also live on W. Valerio. The park hosts are quite busy keeping the entire park running. I’ve lived near the park for over 10 years – this is a very busy park with many events (sports, soccer, parties, weddings, softball, baseball), great summer camps for kids. It takes quite a bit of work to keep the place running and CLEAN . If you’ve lived nearby long, you’d know that the park itself started having financial issues years ago with fewer donations during the economic downturn. Park hosts are definitely one way to keep things running with less money. And they are very common all across the country.