Evacuation command canceled in fire zone

LOS ANGELES — Rain moved through Southern California early Friday, sparing a strip of coastal communities from a repeat of deadly mudslides that struck in January.

Evacuation orders affecting up to 30,000 people on the south Santa Barbara County coast were lifted at midmorning.

“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,” said Rob Lewin, director of the county Office of Emergency Management.

Some minor roadway flooding occurred, but the region’s main highway, Highway 101, remained open throughout the storm.

Officials said 87 percent of those in the threatened areas complied with the evacuation order, which was issued because of concern the storm could unleash debris flows from mountains burned bare by wildfires.

The order encompassed Montecito, where a Jan. 9 storm triggered flash floods that destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes. Twentyone people were killed and two remain missing.

Other areas impacted by the order were Goleta, Santa Barbara, Summerland and Carpinteria.

Sheriff Bill Brown said the evacuation was ordered because models of the storm showed a “risk to life and property and risk of disruption to critical services.”

Department of Public Works official Tom Fayram said there would have been problems if not for work that had been done to clear channels of debris from the January storm.

A voluntary evacuation was also lifted in neighboring Ventura County, where debris blocked a rural highway.

The storm pressed on across metropolitan Los Angeles, where the National Weather Service warned of possible flooding near wildfire burn areas.