Air District details prescribed-burn program, reports low denial rate and new outreach tools

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District provided a detailed update on its prescribed-burn program on May 21, outlining permitting processes, smoke modeling, monitoring deployments and public-outreach efforts.

Compliance-division staff member Kaylee Bonamo (presenter) described prescribed burning as a tool to reduce wildfire hazard and explained the district's four smoke-management components: smoke management plans (SMPs), ignition authorization, smoke-impact monitoring and prescribed-burn outreach. Bonamo said land managers submit SMPs through the Prescribed Fire Information Reporting System (PFERS), and the district requires a two-step notification (a joint news release two to three weeks before a burn and a media advisory the morning of the burn).

Staff said ignition authorization relies on a review of National Weather Service forecasts, the district's air-quality forecasts for ozone and particulate matter, and smoke-dispersion modeling that predicts PM2.5 impacts. Between April 2016 and April 2026, the district received 352 ignition requests and denied 18 (about 5%) due to anticipated poor smoke lift or dispersion after consultation with CARB meteorologists and the land manager, staff said.

For monitoring, staff described portable environmental beta attenuation monitors (EBAMs) deployed near some burns (often placed at schools or medical buildings) to supplement the permanent monitoring network; EBAM readings are displayed on AirNow's fire-and-smoke map. Staff said that for burns near sensitive receptors they will be on-site to collect meteorological data, participate in safety briefings, and share forecasts with crews. The presenter reported that the district received eight complaints related to prescribed burns during the past 10 years.

Bonamo listed recent activity: in 2025 the county conducted 31 prescribed burns totaling 210 acres, and since 2016 land managers have burned roughly 4,843 acres using prescribed fire. The district reported more than 193 burn notifications issued since 2018, about 2,350 email subscribers and roughly 1,000 text-message subscribers to the prescribed-burn lists, with materials typically issued in English and Spanish.

The district said it is developing a public prescribed-burn map to host SMPs, advisories and news releases in a single online mapping tool and is coordinating outreach with land managers and local stakeholders (schools, vineyards, the Santa Barbara Vintners Association). Staff also noted operational challenges for prescribed burning in the county, including rugged terrain, scale (about 1,750,000 county acres), meteorological constraints and public smoke anxiety.

Board members asked follow-up questions and staff said the item was received and filed; the clerk noted there was no public comment on the item.