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UC Santa Barbara’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (Cheadle Center) will conduct a prescribed burn at the Campus’s Lagoon Island this September in coordination with Santa Barbara County Fire and the Air Pollution Control District. This will be the 8th prescribed burn since 2011.
When
*Wednesday September 11th 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where
UC Santa Barbara Lagoon Island
What
A quarter acre of invasive, rip-gut brome grassland will be burned along with cut and dried branches of Coyote brush to create an intense enough fire to sterilize the grass seed. The area will be seeded experimentally with different rates of native wildflower seed from Red Maids, Common Phacelia, Fiddleneck, California Poppies, and more. For the first time, they are re-burning a 2016 burn scar that is now restored Coastal Sage Scrub to analyze how past restoration will respond.
The ideal conditions for a burn include low humidity, no inversion layer, and wind blowing from the interior offshore or down the coast. The period of active smoke is roughly one hour. Fire personnel and Cheadle Center staff will monitor the site for flare-ups throughout the day to ensure the fire is extinguished. We ask the public to respect any trail closures and space needed by fire personnel.
These burns are based on graduate research conducted at UCSB, which shows that a hot enough fire can sterilize the seed bank of weedy, invasive grasses and promote the restoration of native wildflower fields and Coastal Sage Scrub habitat.