With wildfire season now seemingly all year round, the Montecito Fire Department and Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management are testing out a way to quickly contact those at risk, in the event of an emergency.
The purpose of the test on Thursday, is to update contact information for all Montecito residents and verify that opted-in community members receive ReadySBC Alerts without issue, says their Public Information officer Christina Favuzzi.
"This is the same system that we would use in the event of an emergency where we would need to inform people to either evacuate or shelter in place," she explained.
At 11 a.m. on Thursday, only residents who are within the Montecito Fire Protection District boundary and who are registered with ReadySBC Alerts will receive the test alert.
An interactive map of the alert area is available on montecitofire.com. Type in your address to see if you are within the Montecito Fire District boundary and therefore, will receive the test alert.
Community members may register to receive alerts for up to five addresses within Santa Barbara County. Those five addresses might include one’s home address, work address, their child’s school address, and addresses of vulnerable loved ones who may need help during an emergency.
At least one contact method and one physical address are required to sign up for ReadySBC Alerts. Community members may register several contact methods and prioritize them in the order they prefer to be reached
In order to receive the test alert, YOU MUST REGISTER at ReadySBC.org.
A call center will be staffed at Montecito Fire Station 91 on July 21 to field calls from community members with questions or issues relating to the test alert. To reach the call center, dial the non-emergency business line at 805-969-7762.
