Tag archives: debris basins

The Impossible Made Possible
By Bob Hazard   |   January 10, 2019

While most of us in Montecito were making merry over the holiday season, former City of Santa Barbara Fire Chief, Pat McElroy, who is now Executive Director of the Partnership (Partnership for Resilient Communities), was pounding the halls of government, along with Montecito land use attorney Joe Cole, permitting guru Suzanne Elledge, and local government […]

Debris Basins Post Storm
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 20, 2018

Santa Barbara County Flood Control reps report that Montecito debris basins performed nicely during the most recent winter storms in late November. Flood Control cleaned approximately 3,100 cubic yards of material from the Cold Springs debris basin, and about the same amount from the San Ysidro Creek debris basin, resulting from the late November rainfall […]

More on the Map
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 6, 2018

Last week we reported on the impending release of a revised Debris Flow Risk Map, which includes revisions to evacuation zones. The release of the map precedes three scheduled community meetings in Montecito and Carpinteria this week and next; the map went live on Monday, December 3, and all residents are strongly encouraged to check […]

Flood and Mud Preparedness: 2019
By Bob Hazard   |   December 6, 2018

While keeping a wary eye on the weather this winter, residents of Montecito are watching their rainfall charts, fearful of a repeat of heavy storms and mandatory evacuation notices. Seared in our minds are personal memories of the 1/9 disaster when a massive debris flow destroyed or damaged 470 homes in Montecito, and brutally took […]

Swiss Nets in the Works
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   November 22, 2018

At last week’s Montecito Association (MA) board meeting, Brett Matthews with the Partnership for Resilient Communities reported that his group has filed an emergency permit to install 15 temporary steel nets for five canyons in Montecito; the MA board voted unanimously to support the group’s permit application, agreeing to send a letter to the director […]

To Re-build or Not?
By Bob Hazard   |   May 24, 2018

Mark your calendars for June 11, 2018. That’s the expected date for the public release of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Recovery Maps for Montecito. The map release will mark a critical milepost in making the rebuilding decisions that will shape the future character of Montecito for the next 50 years.  FEMA Recovery […]

Montecito Association Meets
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   February 22, 2018

At this month’s Montecito Association meeting on February 13, the board began by holding the 70th annual assembly to install new board members a month later than originally planned. Members of the board, as well as a standing-room-only audience, held a moment of silence for the members of our community who perished in the January […]