It’s a day which rocked a South Coast community. It was January 9, 2018, the day that millions of tons of boulders, mud and debris rolled through Montecito, leaving a trail of death and destruction.
"I was in my bed...and I heard something coming. I jumped out of bed, and it ripped open my house," said Curtis Skene. He lived near the intersection of Highway 192, and Randall Road.
His world was turned upside down. His house was in shambles…it was raining…and there was mud everywhere.
"I found myself under an olive tree, which I proceeded to climb," said Skene He said it felt like one of the longest mornings in his life, as he shivered in the cold and mud, and waited for help. Finally, he heard a familiar voice. It was that of a neighbor, who helped him navigate the way to safety.
23 people died that day. More than 160 were injured. And, hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged. But, the community united in its recovery efforts.
In Skene’s case, he had an idea on how to make sure that one of the creeks which caused much of the damage wouldn’t be able to do it again. He spearheaded an effort which led to Santa Barbara County building a 90,000 square foot debris basin to help keep San Ysidro Creek flowing properly.
Seven property owners who lost their homes in the debris flow agreed not to rebuild on the site, and sold their property to make way for the Randall Road debris basin. With county, state, and federal support, the it was completed last summer.
Santa Barbara County has completed a number of other debris and flood control projects. And, a community campaign raised money to install special nets at key points to keep boulders from clogging key creeks.
Skene thinks the community is now in much better shape to deal with a major storm. "We've dodged bullets every year since the debris flow," said Skene. "We didn't have a lot of rain, it was very gentle...it did't create any issues. But, we're all on watch for sure."
Skene says one of the hardest things is not having a new home yet. While many of his neighbors have rebuilt years ago, he’s been struggling to reach a settlement with Southern California Edison over its liability for the disaster.
Investigators determined that the Edison’s power system was responsible for triggering the December, 2017 Thomas Wildfire, which started near Santa Paula during high Santa Ana winds. The blaze burned all the way to Montecito, stripping the hillsides above the community, and setting the stage for the deadly debris flow.
Skeen is renting a home now. But, he says despite all that’s happened in his neighborhood, and the difficult memories which go with it, he will rebuild.
