Botanic Garden receives fire insurance settlement

By ERIC LINDBERG — Feb. 25, 2010

Less than a year after flames ripped through three-quarters of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, garden officials announced a $6.8 million settlement with their insurance carrier to begin the rebuilding process.

While on its destructive rampage through the hills above Santa Barbara, the Jesusita fire scorched 60 acres of the 78-acre garden, destroyed tools and vehicles, and leveled several structures.

“The losses were substantial,” said Andrew Wyatt, the garden’s assistant director, adding that the insurance figure likely won’t cover the entire loss. “But I think it will go a long way to helping us recover.”

Garden officials plan to use the funds from Chubb Insurance to rebuild the home demonstration garden deck and complete design work to rebuild the Campbell Bridge, greenhouses, the director’s residence and the 1908 Gane House, along with various smaller projects.

Nancy Johnson, the garden’s vice president of marketing and government relations, said the fire also destroyed more than 1,000 plants in the living collection that will have to be replaced.

Many of those non-indigenous plants were brought in from other parts of the state, germinated and planted — making the recovery process a lengthy and time-intensive pursuit.

Workers have already removed dead trees and debris while beginning the replanting process. Thousands of indigenous wildflower seeds have been spread across the barren hillsides in the garden and should bloom in the coming months.

“The garden’s future is very bright,” Wyatt said. “There’s a lot of potential here and we’ll definitely get back on our feet. This spring, you will see a very, very fantastic display.”

Garden officials also noted that burnt stumps started sprouting within weeks of the fire, including one of the state’s most rare oak trees, Nuttall’s scrub oak.

Members of the public have also supported the garden’s recovery, donated roughly $183,000 in monetary gifts and in-kind donations such as garden tools.

“We’ve been very fortunate and the community has been very kind to us after the fire,” Wyatt said.

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: 3/1/2010

Any time chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities (the native bushes and shrubs in our hillsides) burn, flowers grow like crazy the following spring. And, new plants that haven't been seen in years germinate, too. The Gardens could leave some areas Unslated for replanting, and have a demonstration area so people can see the progression of the natural process after a fire.

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