A: Yes. Sedgwick Reserve has comprehensive emergency plans for fire, earthquake, emergency medical situations, and other contingencies. These plans have been in place for many years, and are updated regularly. A copy of our emergency plan can be viewed here.
As part of UC Santa Barbara, we have regular inspections by the UCSB Fire Marshall, safety inspections by Environmental Health and Safety, sprinkler and fire extinguisher inspections once per year, and hazmat inspections of propane tanks and any other compressed gasses. Our field station is held to the same university standards with regular inspections and documentation.
A: From the moment the fire was first called in at 3pm on Friday, July 5th, Sedgwick’s Director, was in constant contact with emergency personnel in the county, UCSB Office of Emergency Management (OEM), UCSB campus, University of California Office of the President, Sedgwick staff, volunteers, and neighbors. She attended daily cooperators’ meetings at the Incident Command Center in Santa Maria, meeting directly with the Incident Liaison, fire officials, tribal and cultural affairs, utilities representatives, government representatives, and other organizations. She also worked with the Buellton Sheriff to keep Reserve entrances clear from onlookers so that firefighters could easily come and go. The Director continued to making decisions for the wise stewardship of Sedgwick Reserve under wildfire conditions throughout the fire. Other staff provided support in the forms of research, communications support, and handling media requests.
Our Director of Operations and the Director of the La Kretz Research Center at Sedgwick Reserve remained onsite during the fire. During the evacuation orders, Sedgwick’s Director secured clearance through the OEM for staff to be remain on site as critical personnel and key informants on the property. Firefighters were welcomed to the Reserve Field Station and given full access to all facilities. Sedgwick staff provided briefings, maps, and critical information such as waterline locations to every crew of firefighters arriving at Sedgwick. Their work helped firefighters safely and effectively access and fight the fire. These two were critical in helping the firefighters identify locations for bulldozer lines to ensure the safety of Sedgwick and the broader community, particularly the Woodstock Community that borders the Reserve.
A: Sedgwick Reserve has a 10-year vegetation management plan that includes prescribed burns conducted in all the areas adjacent to private properties. The plan was meticulously developed in partnership with Santa Barbara County Fire specifically to protect neighboring communities by reducing fuel loads. We leverage these annual burns with research and education opportunities to skill up fire practitioners and learn about fire behavior and ecological recovery.
Reserve staff spend over 1200 hours each year in fire mitigation efforts that include weed abatement, mowing, weed trimming, and lifting trees. Weeds are trimmed around buildings, fences, gates, parking areas, solar arrays, troughs, water tanks and weather stations. Weeds are abated and trimmed by hand near all buildings, weather stations, propane tanks, and other infrastructure. Fallen branches and plant debris are removed from roads and near buildings. Gutters and composite roofs are kept clear of debris and combustible material. Trees branches are kept trimmed to a minimum height of sixteen feet. Mowing is a constant project, particularly after heavy rain years. The following areas are mowed regularly and repeatedly: roads (road width plus mower width on each side of roads), around buildings, parking areas, Lisque near residence property line, turn arounds, selected research plots, solar panels, and around other infrastructure.
In addition, education is a critical part of ensuring safety in the Reserve. Every visitor who goes out into the field has a carefully approved request for activities in the reserve where reserve management ensure no hazardous materials or activities will be taking place. Before going out into the field, users are educated on the dangers of parking in tall grass and are required to carry a fire extinguisher. We maintain a set of fire extinguishers for visitors to borrow. We hold regular safety inspections with Nargan to make sure all our fire extinguishers and sprinklers are in working order.
A: Sedgwick Reserve is a hub for comprehensive wildfire research, encompassing a diverse array of scientific disciplines. Researchers from various fields conduct studies at Sedgwick, focusing on prescribed fire through several key areas:
- Fire Ecology: Investigations focus on how fires interact with species and ecosystems, including fuel dynamics, fire behavior, and ecological impacts.
- Fuels and Fire Behavior: Research into the characteristics of combustible materials and their influence on fire dynamics.
- Restoration and Remediation: Studies aimed at rehabilitating fire-affected areas and evaluating methods for ecosystem restoration.
- Remote Sensing: Utilizing advanced technologies to monitor fire conditions and behavior.
- Meteorology: Research into the importance of heatwaves amongst different fire severities and impacts of the fire on energy budgets.
- Hill Slope Hydrology and Geomorphology: Examining how fire impacts water flow and landscape changes.
- Biogeochemistry and Soil Science: Analyzing the effects of fire on soil properties and biogeochemical cycles.
The La Kretz Center plays a pivotal role in organizing and coordinating research efforts. It fosters collaboration among researchers from universities across the U.S., tribal communities, and NASA. The Center brings together experts into specialized interest groups to enhance research efficacy and integration. The Sedgwick Reserve Vegetation Management Plan outlines potential areas for prescribed burning. This plan aligns with our objectives of wildfire risk reduction, research advancement, land stewardship, and outreach.
Ongoing research includes:
- Pre-burn Data Collection: Gathering baseline data on vegetation structure, composition, and wildlife monitoring.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Tracking changes in vegetation, fuels, fire behavior, and fire severity through permanent plots.
- Additional Advanced Measurement: Planned studies encompass vegetation structure and composition, LIDAR and multispectral imagery, surface and near-surface temperatures, live fuel moisture, soil temperature profiles, oak survival, fuel characterization, fire behavior modeling, wildlife activity, and RHESSys modeling of carbon and water fluxes pre- and post-burn.
Following the Lake Fire, the La Kretz Center has mobilized over 70 researchers to investigate the fire’s impacts and explore new projects. This collective effort enriches our understanding of fire dynamics and informs better fire management practices, enhancing safety and resource management.For further information and updates, researchers and interested parties are encouraged to visit the La Kretz Center’s website or contact us directly.
A: During the prescribed burns undertaken through the vegetation management plan, Sedgwick Reserve holds an annual Prescribed Burning Training Exchange (TREX) where fire practitioners, landowners, agency personnel, tribes, and others can gain skills in using prescribed fire as a tool to mitigate wildfire risk.
Each year, Sedgwick Reserve hosts the prescribed burn and associated trainings and lectures. The Reserve provides free room and board to all TREX participants. In addition to this important work, Sedgwick Reserve has enlisted a slew of researchers who are studying various elements of the prescribed fires, furthering the state of knowledge on how to use good fire on the landscape. Several newsletter articles provide further information on research around our TREX prescribed burns: Prescribed Burning at Sedgwick Integrates Community Objectives and Research Advances (December 2022) and Fire Research Continues at Sedgwick Reserve: Researchers collect pre-burn data for the upcoming TREX prescribed burn this fall (September 2023).
These activities support the State of California goals to upskill a workforce to conduct 400,000 acres of prescribed burns per year (California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force 2022). In preparation, Santa Barbara County Fire has regularly worked on Sedgwick Reserve to cut fire lines and create fire breaks on the Woodstock side of the Reserve property, which were already in place when the Lake Fire began.
UCNRS and Sedgwick Reserve are responsible stewards of the land for the State of California.
Sedgwick Reserve is a nonprofit conservation property which protects natural resources for scientific research, education, and outreach. UCSB Sedgwick Reserve is part of the larger University of California Natural Reserves network of 41 natural areas with this shared mission and resources. The Natural Reserve System operates field stations where researchers and students can collaborate, learn hands-on field techniques, and work safely in the diverse natural environments of California.
The University of California Natural Reserve System is a Trustee Agency for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a state agency having legal jurisdiction over natural resources which are held in trust for the people of the State of California. The University of California Regents hold fee title to lands owned by the Natural Reserve System, and the lands are subject to the policies and processes of the University of California, including Cal NAGPRA to protect our cultural resources.
Sedgwick is not rangeland or agricultural land, aside from a small 200 acre parcel on the east side that was established as part of our founding in 1997.
Sedgwick relies on support from our generous donors and dedicated volunteers. See our opportunities to Get Involved here.
