Evacuations were ordered, school classes were canceled, and swift-water rescue teams were positioned around Santa Barbara County Tuesday morning as a heavy rainstorm swept into the region.
South Coast communities – the Gaviota Coast, Goleta Valley, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland and the Carpinteria Valley – are expected to get the most rain from Tuesday’s storm. That’s where county officials ordered certain areas to evacuate and are watching local creeks and low-lying areas for flooding.
Many school districts in the area canceled class Tuesday, and so did UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College.
The National Weather Service forecasts 2-5 inches of rain for most areas of the county, with more in mountain areas. A flood watch is in effect until 5 a.m. Wednesday and there is a high risk of excessive rainfall in the area, according to the NWS.
The 24-hour rainfall totals as of 4:40 p.m. showed 3.23 inches recorded on San Marcos Pass, the most in the county. Santa Maria recorded 0.99 inches, Guadalupe recorded 1.05 inches, Lompoc recorded 1.18 inches, Buellton recorded 0.82 inches, Solvang recorded 0.75 inches, Goleta recorded 2.15 inches, Santa Barbara recorded 2.27 inches and Carpinteria recorded 1.76 inches of rain.
The NWS issued a flood advisory for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in addition to the flood watch already in effect Tuesday.
Roadway, creek and stream flooding is expected, and there is a significant risk of mud and rockslides, especially on canyon roadways. Shallow debris flows are possible near areas that recently burned during wildfires – including the 2017 Thomas Fire, 2019 Cave Fire and 2021 Alisal Fire on the South Coast.
Multiple vehicle spinouts were reported on local highways and several road closures were announced due to flooding.
Highway 135 is closed from Bell Street in Los Alamos to Harris Grade Road near Orcutt, Caltrans said, and Santa Maria city representatives said that Black Road is closed from Stowell Road to Main Street/Highway 166.
Santa Barbara County’s call center is open at 833.688.5551 and storm-related information is also available at readysbc.org.
The heaviest rain is expected from about 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.
Fire departments have prepositioned water rescue teams, heavy equipment and other resources around the county for the storm, he said.
“We’re ready, and we hope you’re prudent in the activities you undertake today in the storm,” he said.
“Know that the majority of rescues we have in the waterways are the result of people who don’t believe they’ll be swept away, it’s not people who intentionally go swimming. It’s people who are too close or they misjudge the power of the water that they’re close to.”
He also advised people to avoid driving through flooded areas, even if they think it’s shallow water. “Turn around, don’t drown” is the state motto, Hartwig added. If anyone drives into deep water and gets stuck, they should call 9-1-1 for rescue, he said.
Sheriff Bill Brown said his department did door-to-door evacuation notifications for affected areas. The forecast is slightly less concerning Tuesday than it was Monday night, he noted, but there will still be a lot of rain in this storm.
The Sheriff’s Office also did flyovers of the Santa Ynez River and Santa Maria River Monday night to do audio warnings for people living in and near the riverbeds, to tell them water levels are expected to rise, it’s unsafe to stay, and that temporary shelter is available.
Kelly Hubbard, the county’s emergency manager, said the evacuations affect communities near recent wildfire burn areas where there were mudslides, debris on roads and other damage during recent storms.
This is a countywide storm, however, and there are also concerns about flooding and roads becoming impassable in Sisquoc, Tepusquet and Foxen Canyon Road areas, she said.
The bulk of the rain is coming on Tuesday, but many of the increased flows in creeks and rivers will happen on Wednesday, Hubbard noted.
County and city of Guadalupe officials have been meeting to assess the flooding risk to the Pioneer Street area, said Walter Rubalcava, head of the county water resources division.
The threshold for a “breakout” of the Santa Maria River “used to be in the area of 20,000 cfs where it would impact those neighborhoods, now I think it’s lower, in the area of 5,000, 6,000 (cfs),” Rubalcava said.
City and county emergency services are monitoring the conditions and have issued evacuation warnings to residents in the area, he said.
In the South County, county flood control staff are keeping their eyes on local creeks in Montecito and Mission Creek in Santa Barbara, which were “problematic” in the Jan. 9 storm, he said.
“These flows are going to likely take these creeks right to their peak, so we’ve got to monitor and be vigilant on that.”
Additional Downstream Releases From Reservoirs
Agencies have increased the downstream releases from Twitchell Reservoir and Lake Cachuma, affecting the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez river flows.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation controls releases from Cachuma and increased it to 7,000 cubic feet per second Monday night, affecting Santa Ynez River flows past Solvang and Lompoc communities. The Bureau of Reclamation has announced releases of 3,000 cfs and 5,000 cfs since the reservoir filled to capacity in February.
Twitchell Reservoir releases are controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District, and those were increased to 2,500 cfs as of Tuesday.
The county doesn’t control the reservoir releases, Rubalcava noted.
Supervisor Bob Nelson asked about the decision to do releases from the reservoir, and the risk of filling to capacity and spilling during the storm.
“It’s a balancing act, right?,” Rubalcava said.
“So there’s quite a bit of inflow that is forecasted to enter the Twitchell Reservoir so we need to do some releases but we don’t want to get to the spillway elevation where it becomes uncontrolled and any flow coming into the reservoir would spill and go downstream. So what they’re trying to do now is release enough flow to control it and keep the elevations lower, so if a peak flow does come, we don’t have uncontrolled releases.”
The releases will be reduced on Wednesday, when river flows into the reservoir are expected to be higher, he added.
The USGS Water Dashboard has real-time flow gauges on local rivers.
Evacuation Information and Other Storm Resources
The county’s readysbc.org website has evacuation updates, emergency preparedness and response information, and links to sign up for alerts.
The Wake Center on 300 N. Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara is open as an evacuation shelter for persons displaced by evacuation orders. There is no dedicated North County shelter but support is available by contacting the American Red Cross at 805. 678.3073.
Visit the Caltrans Quickmap site for highway status and closure information here.
Visit the county’s Public Works website for local road conditions and closures here.