montecito

An economic and market research company reports at the current pace, it could be 2029 before rebuilding is complete in Montecito from the deadly debris flow which devastated parts of the community.

Santa Barbara-based Robert Niehaus, Incorporated reviewed building permits and other documents related to recovery efforts.

The winter storm which brought some heavy rain, snow, and even a tornado warning to parts of the Central and South Coasts is moving out of our area. Rainfall amounts topped two inches on parts of the South Coast. San Marcos Pass had 1.6” of rain, and Carpinteria 1.5”. There was some street flooding in Santa Barbara Wednesday night, but no major problems were reported in the region’s brush fire burn zones.

The second wave of a big storm system is hitting the Central and South Coasts Thursday morning. It could drop one to two inches of rain in coastal and inland areas. The foothills and mountains could top four inches. There are no evacuation orders for the region, but the National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Santa Barbara County, including the Thomas, Whittier, and Sherpa brush fire burn areas.

The first wave of what’s expected to be a two part storm has arrived on the Central and South Coast, with the biggest punch expected in the second part. Part one of the storm has been pretty unimpressive, with rainfall amounts of less than a half inch for much of the Central and South Coasts. But, there’s a big plume of subtropical moisture streaming into California.

Highway 101 fully reopened in Montecito Saturday night, after flooding from the storm sweeping through the Central and South Coasts left it closed for much of the day.

Thousands of motorists were stranded after a creek near Sheffiled Lane overflowed at about ten Saturday morning.  With Highway 192 alaso closed, there was no way to travel between Santa Barbara and Summerland.

The freeway's southbound lanes reopened at about 4 p.m., and the northbound lanes at about eight p.m. Saturday.

The winter storm moving through the Central and South Coasts created flooding which closed a section of Highway 101 Saturday morning.

San Ysidro Creek overflowed just west of Sheffield Drive in Montecito at about 10 a.m., forcing the shutdown of the highway in both directions.  Traffic was backed up for miles.  The creek also overflowed during the 1/9 debris flow in 2018, but this flooding is on a much smaller scale.  There's no word yet on when it will reopen.

The vehicle of a missing Los Angeles County firefighter has been found in Santa Barbara County. But there’s still no sign of 43-year-old Wayne Stuart Habel of Newhall.

LA County Sheriff’s officials say the 2008 Black Chrysler Aspen was located in a rural area of Montecito by a passerby Friday afternoon. Authorities searched in the area near the vehicle, but Habel was not found.

The third in a series of storms to hit the Central and South Coasts will mean wet weather, but no serious concerns or evacuations for brush fire burn areas in the region Friday.

The storm could drop a quarter of a half inch of rain along the coast, and up to an inch in the mountains and foothills. Rainfall rates are expected to be in the one tenth to three tenths of an hour range, which is well below the threshold for debris flow concerns.

The latest in a string of community meetings to share the latest information on storm preparedness is set to take place Tuesday in Carpinteria.

Public safety officials in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties have been holding a series of meetings to share new maps on potential flood and debris flow zones.