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Progress reported in efforts to prevent deadly falls from Isla Vista's cliffs

Isla Vista's cliffs have been the scene of more than a dozen fatal falls in the last three decades.
Lance Orozco
/
KCLU
Isla Vista's cliffs have been the scene of more than a dozen fatal falls in the last three decades.

Higher fences, increased education are among the steps taken after 2023 tragedy. Many deaths involved people not realizing how close they were to the cliff at night.

It’s been just over a year since a college student died after falling over a cliff in Isla Vista. Benny Schurmer’s death prompted a new push to make the scenic, yet dangerous cliffs safer.

The accident shook the community. Yet, it’s not a new problem. More than a dozen people have died from falls off Isla Vista’s cliffs in the last three decades.

Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps started a new safety campaign in the wake of the 19-year-old’s death.

"We've made huge progress," said Capps. "We've raised fence heights, we put in lighting, we put in better planting so that there's less ability to jump over fences. Some property owners have raised their own fence heights. We've done education, and we're working on a memorial, all trying to make Isla Vista safer."

Capps said with the annual turnover in students, the education part of the safety campaign is never ending. Alcohol and drug use have been a part of some of the accidents over the years, so education about the dangerous bluffs is key.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.