Santa Barbara County OK after storm passes
MONTECITO — Mandatory evacuation orders in Santa Barbara County were lifted Friday morning as a cold winter storm moved through without causing any major damage to areas devastated by deadly mudslides in January.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff ’s Office lifted all mandatory evacuation orders as of 9 a.m. local time.
“Together we made it through the first storm since the 1/9 debris flow,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said in a statement, adding that “we know that being evacuated is a tremendous hardship and we did not make this decision lightly.”
Rain from the Gulf of Alaska storm moved into Southern California overnight, causing mud and debris flows that prompted the closure of some roadways in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Highway 33 near Ojai was closed at Fairview Road at 3:30 a.m. because rocks and debris were on the road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Portions of Highway 192 in Montecito were flooded, and debris stretched 12 to 14 feet across Bella Vista Drive in Montecito, authorities said.
Still, the impacts were minimal, authorities said.
The CHP said the 101 Freeway remained open and that authorities were closely monitoring the roadway in case a closure becomes necessary as rain continues throughout the day.
Santa Barbara County officials said flood control clearing after the Jan. 9 storm that swept away homes and killed 21 people in Montecito prevented problems with the current storm system.
“The worst of the storm has passed, and we are cautiously optimistic that due to a significant amount of pre-storm preparation we have come through this with minimal impact,” Rob Lewin, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management, said in a statement. “Crews are currently completing assessment of all roads, debris basins, conditions of utilities and other public facilities for damage or impact.”
Montecito Fire Department Capt. Jordan Zeitsoff said creeks held up well in areas that were most at risk of mudslides and that there were no major road closures or significant flooding.
“We had no issues with the creeks,” he said. “Crews worked weeks to clear it.”
Also, Zeitsoff said, residents complied better with evacuation orders.
“I feel that things went well,” he said. “Now we just have to prepare for the next storm that will come.”
The storm had a “pretty good intensity” over Santa Barbara and Ventura counties during the predawn hours Friday, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The heaviest rainfall rates were coming over the Santa Ynez Mountains, where rain was coming down at about a half-inch per hour.
The rainfall slightly exceeded the projected total in Santa Barbara County, falling at a rate of 0.6 of an inch of rain per hour, officials said.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Friday, a light drizzle blanketed Montecito. Authorities spent days warning residents to evacuate ahead of the latest storm.
For Manuel Cedeno, a garbage collector for a private company, business went on as usual. He started his shift at 5:45 a.m. and stopped by every house along East Valley Road near Picacho Lane and collected garbage bins as cars whizzed by.
“Things seem to be getting back to normal,” Cedeno said. “We are going to try to go to as many houses as possible, but some roads might be blocked.”
Santa Barbara County mountains already had received a few inches of rain by 4 a.m., with San Marcos Pass receiving 5.95 inches of rain and Refugio Pass getting 2.72 inches. Santa Barbara got 0.3 inch, and Gaviota got 0.53 inch, according to the weather service.