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First District Supervisor Das Williams — Lake Fire, free computer training in Carpinteria, other updates

by Community Contributor • July 17, 2024 • Comments Off

Lake Fire Update

Click here to access the interactive incident map

Let’s all give our collective praise to our firefighters and emergency personnel, who have made significant progress fighting the Lake Fire. As of yesterday evening, the Lake Fire is now 38% contained.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) have lifted the Air Quality Alert in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Air Quality Watch will remain in place countywide, and air quality conditions are forecasted to be good to moderate throughout the county

A number of evacuation orders and warnings have been canceled. When returning home, it is important to exercise caution, as public safety and utility vehicles continue to perform operations in the area.

Evacuation Orders remain in place for areas currently unsafe for the public to return to. These are remote areas, some without identifiable landmarks. See map for details.

Evacuation Warnings remain in place for:

Area east of Kelly Canyon, north of Sisquoc River, west of La Brea Creek and Forest Route 10N06, and south of the Los Padres National Forest.
Area starting at the south end of Cachuma Creek, northeast of Santa Cruz Creek to Santa Cruz Peak, west through Grand Spring, and to the northern part of Cachuma Creek.

Lake Fire Updates

Helpful Recovery Resources

Keeping Faith in Our Democracy

The attempted assassination by a gunman of former President Trump is deeply disturbing. Political violence is not ever the answer. Like many of you, I do not support former President Trump, and view his ascendance in our politics as extremely troubling. However, the strength of our democracy is that we exercise our collective will by our vote. Violence only serves to undermine and erode our democracy, and our shared humanity. My prayers are with the family of the individual who was killed, those who were injured, and the law enforcement and first responders who bravely intervened.

When I found out (at a family gathering), the man next to me remarked “now we are like every other county.” I think his comment was an indictment of the stability of our democracy. But I disagree. We still have so many people and institutions striving to uphold our rule of law. However, I agree that this type of violence is precisely the danger we must work hard to avoid. And we must keep the faith in our democracy, and in our ability to uphold it.

Free Computer Basics Training at Carpinteria Library

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Electric Landscape Equipment Incentives Available

This week the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD)relaunched the Landscape Equipment Electrification Fund (LEEF) program. The program will allocate $300,000 to businesses, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and public schools to trade in gasoline or diesel landscape equipment and purchase electric-powered equipment. The application window

is now open and funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Eligible organizations can receive up to:

? $700 for chainsaws, trimmers, edgers, and brush cutters;

? $1,400 for leaf blowers and vacuums;

? $1,500 for walk-behind lawn mowers; and

? $15,000 for ride-on and stand/sit mowers.

Learn More

Das Around Town