Santa Barbara County Heat: Wildfires in California Wine Country

An Airman at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, CA I was enjoying every minute of living in Lompoc, California. Nestled in a valley between the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Santa Barbara Hills to the East, this beautiful little town is like a cauldron awaiting a flame. The climate is what the locals call a "Mediterranean Climate" which is to say, it rarely rains and rarely gets either hot or cold. Nearly all of the annual precipitation comes from the daily fog the Pacific lays upon Lompoc each morning. Farmland is bountiful there, as Lompoc is famous for its flower fields. Lompoc's nickname even happens to be "The City of Murals and Flowers". Truly, it is a beautiful place.

The year 2006 brought some horror to this little town however. Lompoc and every other town for hundreds of miles, containing millions of residents watched in horror as the giant wildfires of that summer continued unchecked through September and into October. This giant wildfire beast seemed nearly unstoppable. The elite firemen from all over the world that had come to fight this monster continued to die like so many ants on a sidewalk, succumbing to wildfire's smoke and flame. The computers at Vandenberg Air Force Base and several server stations had hard drive crashes because of the accumulation of smoke particles. The wildfires were claiming more life and real estate each day without fail. Endangered wildlife that thrives in only this area, such as the Snowy Plover, were being threatened more and more daily by the scorching flames and wind-blown smoke and airborne debris. Acres and acres of trees and forest were being wiped out each day. The coyotes and mountain lions indigenous to the valley were at times forced into view in and around town, trying to escape their own deaths at the mercy of the fires. Black bears were even spotted more and more along the nearby coast and in local parks. It almost seemed like the end of the world to many residents. No doubt, things looked grim.

California Wildfires Burn Through Santa Ynez, A Prelude To Things To Come

The Santa Ynez Valley, which is the adjoining neighbor valley to Lompoc Valley, was burned by the wildfires for about two continuous months when the fire finally threatened Lompoc and its residents. The historic Danish village of Solvang, found in the Santa Ynez Valley or about 20 minutes from Lompoc, had been spared, barely. The town has beautiful Danish windmills, cobbled streets, sculptures and shopping galore. The wildfire had been kind to Solvang, but seemed to be headed straight for Lompoc. Its residents prepared for the worst. Some of the local wineries even went so far as to crop their grapes early, and some uprooted a few of their crop in hopes of being able to replant and reproduce them one day from what was apparently soon be scorched earth.

Vandenberg Air Force Base happens to be home to one of the most elite military Firefighter schools in the country. Their best Firemen were put to the test to try to save Vandenberg, a Space Command base from these historic California wildfires. Often NASA satellites and other craft are launched from Lompoc's beaches, so there was much as stake in stopping this wildfire.

The Wildfire Loses Its Battle, Gives California Peace For Now

As one can guess, the fires eventually subsided. The City of Murals and Flowers survived, only baring some loss to land and homes on its outskirts. Some nearby swamp land had peat that smoldered underground for nearly a year following the fires, providing the resident firefighters with plenty of work and vigilance to be carried on for a very long time.

The wildfires of California are a spectacular tragedy to behold. I rode out hurricane Andrew while living in New Orleans, LA, hurricane Fran and Floyd while residing in North Carolina and even some earthquakes and tornadoes. The wildfires that stalked California's Central Coast and all of Santa Barbara County in 2006 easily rank equally in both the fear and damage factors against the other natural disasters I've experienced. Wildfire is at times like a living breathing animal. Some of the firefighters on the local news stations at the time stated "sometimes the animal will anticipate your next move, and outsmart you".