As you know, the Thomas Fire has affected Southern Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in many ways. I know that I speak for all Goleta residents in expressing our gratitude for the hard work and sacrifices made by the valiant firefighters and public safety personnel throughout this emergency. They continue to minimize danger to our residents and property and are doing everything possible to extinguish this fire. Still, let’s not minimize the need for continued awareness and precautions until this fire’s threat to our community is completely eliminated.

Our City’s first priority is your safety. To that end, City staff has been coordinating with the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services since the incident began to provide operational and communications support.  Thousands of individuals are serving on this incident from around the country and Goleta staff members are honored to work beside them.

Our City Council and staff are committed to keeping our residents well informed and safe from the fire, including providing timely information not only on fire developments but also resources available to you, such as mask distribution sites. Look for regular updates on our City’s website at www.cityofgoleta.org and sign up for alerts (see below) if you haven’t done so already.

For Up-to-Date Fire Conditions, Please Refer to Important Resources Below

• Thomas Fire Information:
  • English http://www.countyofsb.org
  • Spanish http://www.countyofsb.org/thomasfirespanish.sbc#update
• Information is also available by phone on the 2-1-1 helpline, 24 hours/day in multiple languages. Those outside the area can call 800-400-1572.
• Additional resources can be found on our website here: http://www.cityofgoleta.org/community/advanced-components/news-list.

How to Keep Abreast of Goleta-Specific Information and Developments

The City provides emergency updates in several ways:

• Regular updates are provided through email/text notifications. Sign up here or text Goleta Emergency to 468-311 for notifications in English or Goleta Spanish to 468-311 for notifications in Spanish.
• You can also email pio@cityofgoleta.org and provide your name, phone number (specify land and/or cell), email address and language preference.  Call 805-961-7508 and provide your name, phone number (specify land and/or cell), email address and language preference for notifications. Occasionally the City sends phone notifications with more critical and timely information. The more ways we have to contact you, the better.
• Finally, sign up for emergency alerts from Santa Barbara County at http://www.awareandprepare.org.

Whenever the fires abate, that’s a good time to review your preparedness for a future emergency situation.  CalFire has put together these helpful resources:

• http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Pre-Evacuation-Preparation/
• http://www.readyforwildfire.org/docs/files/File/calfire_go_brochure_LINOweb.pdf

On behalf of our City Council and staff, I want to express our deepest appreciation to Goleta residents and superb public safety personnel for your continued, cooperative efforts to bring this emergency to a conclusion, as safely and quickly as possible.

Thank you,

Mayor Paula Perotte