Montecito has the strongest local support programs in the region

The catalogue

Support available to Montecito residents, in order

• The district's defensible space survey. Request-based: district personnel evaluate your property and tell you what your parcel actually needs. This is the official read, and it's free.
• The home hardening assistance program. District support for ember-resistant building materials: vents, eaves, and the structure-side upgrades covered in the hardening guide.
• The neighborhood chipping program. The district handles the debris side of vegetation work, which removes the most common practical excuse for postponing it.
• Firewise Montecito. The community's certified Firewise USA status brings organized neighborhood-level effort and, with some insurers, recognition that can matter for coverage conversations.
• State programs. CAL FIRE administers defensible-space and home-hardening grant funding as it's appropriated; check current cycles at fire.ca.gov.
• The free assessment. The compliance-and-contracting complement to the district's survey: what the coming Zone 0 rules require at each structure, and what a licensed contractor would actually change. Request it here.

A note on honesty: we don't list dollar amounts or name grant programs we haven't verified as currently open, because funding cycles close. The resources page links the official sources that stay current.

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