Second Goleta Homeless Camp Fire Along Highway 101
Update by edhat staff
Santa Barbara County firefighters extinguished a brush fire that sparked near a homeless camp along Highway 101 on Monday afternoon.
After 2:30 p.m. firefighters responded to the area between the railroad tracks and Highway 101 southbound near the Los Carneros exit. A fire near a homeless encampment was spreading to the nearby vegetation and producing a large amount of smoke on the freeway.
Traffic restrictions were put in place as fire crews on the ground and helicopter making water drops worked to suppress the fire and knock it down. The forward progress of the fire has been stopped and crews will remain on scene to mop up.
There were no reported injuries and the official cause is under investigation.
This is the second brush fire in Goleta along Highway 101 that started near a homeless camp. Ten days ago another fire close the same area shut down both directions of Highway 101 and prompted buildings to evacuate fire jumped from the southbound to the northbound lanes.
There is a brush fire along Highway 101 southbound between the Fairview and Los Carneros exits.
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87 Comments
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Jul 14, 2020 07:51 PMWell I guess you get what the majority ejected into office. Another administration they spends hundreds of thousands researching why people are homeless instead of actually helping the homeless not be homeless.
Soon the homeless will create more homeless and lost businesses as the fires will eventually kill more people & burn more property.
But hey it’s not like the govt can do anything. Why would they use their vacant land to create a tent city with onsite health care? That’s ludicrous, why actually help them not be homeless. Right, crazy. All that vacant land, shelters for less than $1,000 each. Why would the govt want to help the homeless?
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Jul 15, 2020 09:32 AMThere is no upper limit to the demand for free housing and support in this community. None ,It is infiinte. Or else the city is required to pick winner and losers in this lottery. ACLU has no right to inflict an unfunded mandate on us to house anyone who demands shelter in this community or else they get to camp on our sidewalks. Get a new city council and city attorney who will stare down ACLU, and not blink this time.
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Jul 15, 2020 09:30 AMBuy everyone a mobile home in Lake County, California - the most cost effective solution of all. Look up the housing prices in Lake County CA on Zillow. Makes a mockery of even using the term "homeless". Homes are available in this state. Just not here.
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Jul 15, 2020 09:19 AMYeah, it's better to just keep funding studies over and over. Then you don't have to do anything.
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Jul 15, 2020 07:45 AMWhat vacant land? Where are the funds to build the camps, provide security and healthcare and food and basic necessities? How do you limit the numbers of people that would show up once they found out that they could live decently? Easy to criticize, not so easy to come up with solutions, which is why NO ONE has been able to do it that I know of.
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Jul 14, 2020 03:40 PMThis is ridiculous. When are the powers that be going to do something about this situation before houses are burned down like up in Paso Robles? This is a serious problem.
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Jul 15, 2020 07:43 AMYes because the Repubs running all those Cities all across the south have done such a smash up job of solving their poverty and homeless problems. But keep up with your magical thinking, it is all because people that think government can be part of the solution are wrong!
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Jul 14, 2020 03:49 PMThe powers that be will only give us more of the same failed policies. If only people would finally vote all the stogy old republicans who have been running things all these years out of office and give the democrats a chance, then perhaps we could make things better.
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Jul 14, 2020 10:54 AMThe city should have accepted my "Open-road project" years ago when I offered it for free..
Now...make smoores.
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Jul 14, 2020 02:57 AMsbletsgetalong
I agree that we should provide sanctioned places for the homeless to camp and live, and have no problem with some tax dollars going to sanitation and security. The tough issue is 'where?' Nobody wants such in their neighborhood, so if you place it in a remote area, the clients won't go for it because they live off the commercial centers, like Market Place and the Calle Real area, within walking distance of their present encampments. I haven't figured out a solution to this dilemma.
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Jul 15, 2020 09:22 AM12:46 pm, they do have a choice. That's why it's tricky. You can give them a place to live, but they don't have to stay there. I recently spent some time in a big European city with a large safety net. I still saw a handful of homeless people sleeping on park benches during my visit. I asked my friends about it. They said "well, yes, we have a social safety net. Everyone can have a place to live. What happens is that the city will find them a flat to live in - but it probably isn't where they want to live. They grew up in neighborhood X and they want to live there. So they would rather be homeless than have an apartment in neighborhood Y." If you find a big piece of land in the county - like near the jail or something...how do they get food? The problem with out of the way places is that they are out of the way...
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Jul 14, 2020 01:27 PM12:46, Goleta Beach is a short walk from the 101 near Los Carneros? Maybe you are an ultramarathon runner and your definition of a short walk is different that most people's?
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Jul 14, 2020 12:46 PMGuess what? They have no choice. As long as there is a bed somewhere they cannot refuse to move. That is state law. As long as SB County provides shelter somewhere they can move them off of the streets and out of the vegetation. If the homeless don’t like it they can move along and burn down a different town.
Goleta Beach is a short walk from that area. There is nothing stopping them from going there to use BBQ facilities. It was hot out how do we know this wasn’t Arson on purpose? We know it wasn’t a warming fire. If they can walk to the store to get stuff to BBQ they can walk to the beach to cook it. This is out of hand.
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Jul 13, 2020 08:46 PMThe clock is running; in a few months the Sundowners will arrive. If nothing changes, a fire along the 101 and RR tracks could quickly run to the sea, taking everything in its path. We are rolling the dice here by failing to do the obvious = clear out the undergrowth and illegal camps. Just doesn't seem there is the political will to unite all the stakeholders to make it happen. Plenty of finger-pointing likely after the event (and more insurance cancellations for Goletans).
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Jul 13, 2020 06:57 PMIt's up to the elected "leaders" to make the call to end this ongoing issue, and the only way they will do that is for them to sense that the voting majority has had enough of this. Unfortunately, I don't think we're there yet, despite the recurrent fires and the ongoing problems with state st./downtown as a whole (nice library! Yeah, I went there as a kid, and hell no I'm not using it with my kid).
Thus far, we still have a very favorable sociopolitical vibe for this type of activity here in SB/Goleta. It's ultimately up to the public to decide what kind of place we want to live in. I think it will probably take a major catastrophe to shift the tide - likely a large fire that wipes out a few neighborhoods, and maybe takes a number of lives - to get this to happen.
Perosnally, I would like to see the freeway-train tracks corridor from Montecito to Goleta clearcut, starting tomorrow. It's a start. And I love trees.
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Jul 13, 2020 08:48 PMI would love to save the trees too! Unfortunately, our present course will assure the trees are all burned to the ground. In order to save the trees, we need to maintain them. What we have now is an overgrown mess. It could be a beautiful, park like freeway corridor lined with healthy, well pruned, and aesthetically pleasing trees. A well maintained landscape would not be a fire hazard and would not provide cover for drug addicts to live in. In order to save the trees, we need to show them some love in the form of thoughtful thinning and pruning.
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Jul 13, 2020 06:43 PMThankfully no one was hurt. But seriously, over 40 years of discussing how to help the homeless and hundreds of thousands spent on “research” as to how to help them.
Who else is sick of this?
The County needs to sanction a tent City in a remote area so they can have a roof over their heads, meals and regular health care.
Before you say it costs too much money, ask how much these last two fire costs, now multiply that by a fire every other week throughout the county. Ask about all the paramedic calls to help the homeless. Etc...
Not to mention the safety issues and liability. The government is aware of these illegal dangerous activities and ignores them, they are negligent in protecting the citizens and property of the tax payers in this county.
They are fully aware of these camps and potential danger to lives and property.
But really they should sanction tent cities and allow residents of SB county to live in them who cannot provide for themselves.
Who else has to die, remember the man who died in the Goleta creek last year cooking dinner?
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Jul 13, 2020 06:18 PMWell, it wasn't "warming fire" and at 2:45, not normal mealtime, maybe it was chem lab time?
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Jul 13, 2020 05:46 PMThanks for all of your comments and those of you who helped out. :)
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Jul 13, 2020 04:43 PMHow many fires need to break out before we clean out these camps?
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Jul 13, 2020 04:13 PMThird bum fire in two weeks.
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Jul 14, 2020 01:29 PMBum in the English sense?
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Jul 13, 2020 04:12 PMAcross from Marvilla, senior complex, saw 4 shopping carts, fence pulled down...lots of homeless...by the tracks...that will burn next.
Nothing is ever done...
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Jul 13, 2020 06:44 PMThose Seniors are scared of those guys too..
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Jul 13, 2020 04:05 PMNoozhawk has some pictures up of the incident
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Jul 13, 2020 03:37 PMAlot of units(City) going back in service copter 4 doing 2 more drops...
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Jul 13, 2020 03:17 PMSheriff helicopter is doing water drops grabbing from lake los caneros is seems. they are flying over my work and im getting sprinkled.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:25 PMI would love a Halibut!
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Jul 13, 2020 04:01 PMMaybe they will drop a bass and you'll have something for dinner..
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Jul 13, 2020 03:17 PMForward progress has been stopped, per the scanner.
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Jul 13, 2020 03:17 PMhow many homeless encampment fires do we need to have before they clean that area up? Is this city or private land?
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Jul 13, 2020 05:16 PMthanks!
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Jul 13, 2020 05:05 PMIt is Caltrans and/or Union Pacific railroad property, not city or private.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:24 PMThey cleaned up the area from last week between Fairview and Patterson. Now they need to clear Los Carneros to Fairview and then keep going one section at a time but on both sides not just where the fires have burned already.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:05 PMTo Deadhead61, neither.
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Jul 13, 2020 03:24 PMI haven't heard weather or not a homeless person started the fire it could have started another way. Not making excuses for the homeless but I doubt very much that Santa Barbara ever gets rid of the homeless or the camps they have been trying for years. Doubt there will ever be a so called cure for homelessness also as some folks choose to live that way.
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Jul 13, 2020 03:13 PMWasn't there a big fire right near there (or right there exactly) less than two weeks ago?
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Jul 13, 2020 04:38 PMHow about just chasing them the Hell out of there. The Feds runs Amtrak, so they should enforce the tresspassing laws on their easement. They, the Feds, are responsible. However, the reality is, the Feds are just going to keep doing as they always do; NOTHING.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:22 PM4:09 - why would drug testing the inhabitants prevent fires? Also, you can't just go taking blood from people without a warrant or probable cause.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:22 PMAbout half mile away but same side of Freeway.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:09 PMSo the homeless encampment moved a couple of hundred yards and set another fire. How about at least drug testing them?
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Jul 13, 2020 03:30 PMYes. It was from a homeless encampment...
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Jul 13, 2020 03:11 PMHelicopter making water drops.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:19 PMYou were right Roger, water drops were very cool!
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Jul 13, 2020 03:16 PMI heard they might make some drops, cool..That will put it out quicker.
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Jul 13, 2020 03:04 PMWe need to clear all the dead and overgrown foliage along the freeway and tracks now! The same goes for parks and all other public spaces. Relying on unplanned burns to clear and maintain public land is not a viable strategy in a densely populated area. Sooner or later one of these fires is going to start in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:54 PMLike the Finns raked their leaves? You know, over there, in that part of Russia.
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Jul 13, 2020 04:45 PMok Chip, go for it! We'll be behind you rooting. Maybe get Trump out there with you with his rake....because you know....cutting down all of the trees and raking the land prevents fires....*smh*
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