Fire Safety

Park Hosts provide continuous on-site monitoring to ensure the Park’s safety and security. The Hosts must attend Red Cross first aid training annually. Video and license-plate readers have been installed at the new entrance kiosk off Las Positas. (An unexpected benefit of the camera: images of nocturnal wildlife, like this coyote.)

Non-native, fire-prone plant species are continually removed. Over the past three years, over 500 native oaks and more than 4,000 coastal shrubs have been planted, thanks to support from generous individuals, the Bucket Brigade, and City of Santa Barbara.

The Park’s two historic wells have been restored, thanks to partial funding from a grant from the Hutton Park Foundation. They will provide irrigation to areas of South Park which will be planted with native California trees.

Elings Park hosted a public meeting about fire safety to address concerns raised by a group of neighbors. Representatives from the Park, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Bucket Brigade Humanitarian Garden, and Sig-nal outlined the Park’s ongoing and planned mitigation efforts, answered questions, and arranged for continued communications about this issue.

Each fall for the past five years, Elings Park has imported sheep to graze and reduce fuel buildup in South Park. In 2024, hungry goats helped reduce invasive cape ivy in Godric Grove, and a herd of horses and mules worked over the weeds adjacent to our Calle Montilla neighbors. The grazing transforms the landscape by improving soil health with “natural” fertilizer and promoting growth of native grasses. The Santa Barbara Fire Department now cover about 20 percent of the annual cost, with grants and donations funding the remainder.

The Bucket Brigade, in collaboration with the SBFD, has removed thousands of castor bean plants from South Park, and planted protective screens of fire-resistant cacti and oaks.

For detailed information on the ecological makeup of Elings Park, visit the Ecological Survey Results. The Park was one of seven local “open space” parks including a study by the City of Santa Barbara to assess hazardous fuels.

Recently completed: a $100,000 sidewalk improvement project along George Bliss Drive, funded by Geof and Laura Wyatt. Designed with input from Santa Barbara Fire Department, it features a new “auto turn-out” for easier emergency vehicle access to Singleton Pavilion and Godric Grove.

In partnership with Your Children’s Trees and funded by the Santa Barbara Foundation, oak seedlings are being grown from acorns gathered on-site for eventual planting in the park. Visit the Growing Grounds, located near the West Valerio Street pedestrian entrance.

Funds are currently being raised to improve the pedestrian entrances at Calle Montilla (rendering above) and Calle Andalucia to give easier access to emergency vehicles. The new entrances also will be more aesthetically pleasing than the current chain link fences.

Elings Park donates the use of our location for Santa Barbara Fire and Police Department drills, including search and rescue, bicycle training, SWAT, and police dog training.