Fire Prompts Santa Barbara to Lift Lawn-Watering Ban

The fire danger from dry grass and withered vegetation spurred the Santa Barbara City Council to lift a ban on lawn watering that had been in effect for almost five months.

In the aftermath of the disastrous wildfire that destroyed more than 400 homes near Santa Barbara and blackened 4,500 acres, the City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to lift the watering ban, said Mayor Sheila Lodge. The resolution is expected to go into effect next week.

“We want to increase the moisture level of lawns and shrubs, so if there’s another fire it could provide a buffer zone,” Lodge said. “Brown lawns and dry shrubs could provide fuel to any fire that breaks out.”

In late February, the council declared a “drought emergency,” banning lawn watering and prohibiting residents from using hoses to water trees and shrubs. They were only permitted to keep vegetation alive with hand-held buckets or drip irrigation systems.

These restrictions will be eliminated, but sharply higher water rates that went into effect during the drought emergency remain unchanged.

No homes in Santa Barbara--where the watering ban was in effect--were damaged in the fire. Most of those that burned were in an unincorporated area of the county between Santa Barbara and Goleta. But because of the drought and higher water prices, many homeowners in the fire-damaged areas had brown lawns and dry vegetation, said Charlie Johnson, spokesman for the county Fire Department.

“For the first time, I saw entire lawns that were completely burned . . . and that will just fuel a fire,” Johnson said. “That allows the fire to carry and jump to the next thing, like a domino effect.”

A well-irrigated landscape could limit damage if another fire sweeps through the city, said T. G. Tomberg, a battalion chief for the Santa Barbara Fire Department.

“The greener your landscaping is and the more moisture it has . . . the better chance it has in stopping a fire from spreading,” Tomberg said. “Healthy green trees, shrubs or lawns are one part of a defense mechanism that could prevent a house from catching fire.”

City officials said the watering ban was lifted to reduce potential fire hazards, and because conservation efforts have been successful and emergency water supplies are expected soon. Since the drought emergency was declared, the city had hoped to conserve by about 45%, but during the last few months residents have exceeded expectations and cut water use by about half.

Council members acknowledged that the decision to prohibit lawn watering was highly unpopular and that many residents had been pressuring city officials for months to end the ban.

“There was a strong feeling among the public that it wasn’t fair to have to cut back on their water use, and then be told where to cut back,” said Councilman David Landecker. “ . . . Residents showed more concern over this issue than any other I’ve been involved with in the City Council.”

Residents will be able to water their lawns as long as the city continues to conserve water by about 45%. But if water use rises sharply, council members say, the watering ban could be reinstated.