UCSB, County Fire Department to Conduct Prescribed Burn on Lagoon Island

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER), the UC Santa Barbara Fire Department, and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department will conduct a prescribed burn on UCSB's lagoon island on one day during the week of June 15-19.

The burn will be part of the ecological restoration of the area, according to Lisa Stratton, natural area director at CCBER. "The burn is part of a research effort to control non-native grasses and establish native coastal bluff scrub vegetation," Stratton said. "We will be conducting the burn during the low-occupancy week on campus, on the day with the least amount of fog, in order to get a hot enough burn to reduce the viability of the seed bank."

This will mark the third year that UCSB has conducted the burn. Funding for the project is from the students of UCSB through the Coastal Fund, Stratton said. UCSB officials have all necessary permits for the burn from the Coastal Commission and the Air Pollution Control District, and campus officials have conducted a fire safety meeting with Santa Barbara County fire officials.