Tag archives: storms
While heavy rains are not unfamiliar to locals these days, this past storm came with a few surprises, including hail at the Sheffield Drive undercrossing and a sinkhole on the 2400 block of Sycamore Canyon that led to a gas line break. As well as a slump in the road on Barker Pass. The areas […]
At this month’s Montecito Association Board Meeting, Montecito Fire Chief David Neels, along with reps from the Sheriff’s Department, Flood Control, and Office of Emergency Management, gave a presentation on the upcoming winter, which is expected to be a heavy rainy season. Chief Neels presented a recap of last winter, in which there was historical […]
As Tropical Storm Hilary threatened to bring significant rainfall to Southern California and into Santa Barbara County this past weekend, Montecito Fire Protection District remained in close communication with National Weather Service partners to determine how Montecito may be affected. In response, a sandbag filling station was set up at Lower Manning Park for community […]
December 4 marks four years since the Thomas Fire began its treacherous march from Santa Paula to the hills of Carpinteria and Montecito. We all remember the devastating debris flow that occurred just more than a month later. Every winter since the 1/9 Debris Flow, Montecito Fire has partnered with our local first responder and […]
ShelterBox, the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit dedicated to disaster relief, is currently dealing with the aftermath of super typhoon Goni, which made landfall in the Philippines. Known locally as Rolly, the typhoon is the latest in a series of violent storms to rip through the country with 140-mile-per-hour winds and torrential rainfall. It became the most […]
Last Friday, February 1, nearly 1,500 residents were evacuated in anticipation of a predicted storm that was forecasted to exceed debris flow rain threshold rates in the foothills above Montecito. The storm, which produced the most rain in the early morning hours of Saturday, did indeed hit threshold levels estimated at 1 inch per hour, […]
Over the course of the past week, the Santa Barbara area received anywhere from four to eight inches of rain, possibly even a little more at what local weather people like to call “the higher elevations.” Montecito was blessed with a good amount of precipitation too (Jameson Lake is now filled and spilling over Juncal […]
Last week many Montecito residents endured evacuations due to a series of several rain storms that hit our area, bringing much needed wet weather to the County. Montecito Water District reports that Thursday’s storm in particular brought significant precipitation over the Santa Ynez River upper watershed, and was seemingly concentrated over Jameson Lake, a key […]
This is being written as much of Montecito is under a Mandatory Evacuation Notice. Tuesday, January 15, at 10 am sharp, Montecito Inn hotel guests were required to check out, as were Four Seasons Biltmore guests. Traffic continued to move along critical roadways for a while, but many of those roads began to be closed […]
This Sunday, December 15, volunteers will be going door-to-door in Montecito to talk to residents living in the debris flow risk zone. Last week, the Office of Emergency Management announced that the interactive map designating areas at risk from a debris flow below the Thomas, Whittier, and Sherpa burn areas in Santa Barbara County has […]
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 […]
On October 25, more than 100 Montecito residents attended a community meeting at Montecito Union School regarding storm readiness, hosted by the County of Santa Barbara and the Montecito Association. “We’re bracing ourselves for another post-fire winter season, and the most effective defense we have is to work together as a community,” said director of […]
This week, Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services will release a new evacuation and debris flow map to help get Montecito residents prepared for the rainy season. “Our team has been very reflective over the spring and summer, and we’ve arrived at this place to be able to give the public ample time before […]
At last week’s Montecito Association Board meeting, the board heard from Rob Lewin, director of the County’s Office of Emergency Management, who gave a preview of a presentation that he will be giving to the larger community at a special meeting on Thursday, October 25. “As we approach the rainy season, it’s vital that we […]
I have been in science my whole life, and as I age I realize it rarely has needed a Newton or Einstein; it has just needed information and common sense. As an example, I realized in recent weeks after witnessing the current hysteria over rain and flooding, there is a simpler explanation to our freak […]
