Rep. Carbajal announces $1.5 million in federal funding for wildfire research
Smoke from the fire burning near the Twitchwell Reservoir and Highway 166. Courtesy Cal Fire.
UCSB grant will help study wildfire patterns and resilience strategies
–Today, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced that UC Santa Barbara’s (UCSB) Earth Research Institute has been awarded a $1.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) program grant to evaluate urban wildfire patterns and resilience strategies.
Yesterday, Rep. Carbajal addressed a full chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives to urge them to provide badly needed resources for federal land management agencies to fight wildfires and implement prevention programs. Watch his full remarks here.
“With the Alamo and Whittier fires burning over 40,000 acres combined on the Central Coast, this funding comes at a critical time to help our federal, state and local officials better cope with fire season and implement more strategic response strategies,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I am grateful for the efforts of our students and professors at UCSB for their work to improve fire safety in our communities.”
“This grant will help UCSB expand our knowledge of the increasing threat of wildfire to urban areas and explore better fire management and protection methods to employ in our communities,” said UCSB Professor Leila Carvalho. “We’re proud to be called on to delve more deeply into this critical issue to assist local and national leaders in fire research and firefighting. We need more leaders with a vision for sciences and who deeply care about our population, we appreciate Rep. Carbajal’s support in this effort.”
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