This week marks the eighth anniversary of a series of massive mudflows in the city of Montecito. It left 23 people dead and caused at least $177 million in property damage.
The disaster's anniversary will be commemorated on Friday.
"People still need to remember and be reminded of what happened and the steps to move forward," said Christina Atchison with the Montecito Fire Dept.
Atchison added that the memorial event is a way to show support to those who suffered trauma on that fateful morning.
"One of our speakers is a survivor of the debris flow, and he lost his spouse in the debris flow," said Atchison. "It will be really powerful to hear his story of resilience and moving forward all these years later."
The Raising Our Light memorial event is this Friday (1/9) at Montecito Union School.
