Vehicle fire and vegetation fire off Hwy. 101
Two acres caught fire alongside Highway 101 at Palmer Road in Los Alamos Tuesday afternoon.
LOS ALAMOS — A vehicle fire Tuesday afternoon spread to nearby vegetation, charring two acres alongside Highway 101 at Palmer Road.
Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to reports of a fully involved vehicle fire extending into the brush at 2:56 p.m. The fire department issued a vegetation fire response and sent an engine to extinguish the vehicle as well.
The responding crews saw a west wind pushing the flames through light brush and contained the fire to two acres.
Crews canceled calls for aircraft and dozer assistance.
The cause is under investigation, although it seems likely the vehicle fire was the source.
— Annelise Hanshaw
Armed standoff results in mental health treatment
SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Police officers deployed two rubber bullets during negotiations with a subject armed with two large kitchen knives that appeared to be undergoing a mental health crisis.
Police originally responded around 9:20 a.m. when a 911 caller reported a family member acting “bizarre” with two large kitchen knives in the 1500 block of West Valerio Street. Two members of the Crisis Negotiations Response Team assisted officers.
Upon arrival, they saw a male standing in a doorway holding knives and talking nonsensically.
Officers told the subject to drop the weapons multiple times, but the subject exited the home with a small coffee table as a makeshift shield in addition to the knives.
After many failed negotiations, officers were afraid the subject could pose extreme danger to the community if he fled.
The subject started to approach an officer, and police gave verbal commands to drop the knives. One officer then deployed a less-lethal rubber projectile and hit the subject’s leg.
The subject tried to enter a neighbor’s home while still armed, so a second rubber projectile was deployed. (The press release does not specify where the bullet struck.)
Officers continued to negotiate, and the subject surrendered.
Police temporarily detained the subject and called County Crisis Recovery Emergency Services to evaluate mental wellbeing.
A mental health professional put the subject on a custody hold for evaluation and treatment, and he was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
SBPD reports its primary concern was the wellbeing of the individual. No charges are pending.
— Annelise Hanshaw
