Santa Barbara Firefighter Dies While Battling Forest Blaze

A Santa Barbara city firefighter died over the weekend while battling a blaze in Los Padres National Forest, authorities said.

The body of Stephen Joseph Masto, 28, was found in the steep terrain of north Santa Barbara County on Saturday after he failed to return to camp.

Officials said it wasn’t clear how he died and there was no evidence of burns.

“This may have been his first wildfire,” said Michael Kotowski, a battalion chief with the Santa Barbara Fire Department. He said Masto had volunteered to help fight the 180-acre blaze.

Even with the dangers they face, firefighters from Masto’s department line up to help fight the big wildfires, Kotowski said.

“Everyone loves to go. It’s a great assignment, very exciting,” he said. “In fact, it’s such a popular assignment that we have a formal rotation.

“Steve was next up. You can decline to go, but he certainly didn’t. He wanted to go.”

Santa Barbara, along with Los Angeles, were just some of the spots throughout several states in the West where fires have been raging for a week.

Blazes in Santa Barbara County charred 32,914 acres. Two major fires were surrounded, and firefighters were gaining the upper hand on three others.