Santa Barbara County canceled the shelter-in-place and evacuation orders for the Alisal Fire burn area Monday afternoon after the morning’s storm drenched the region but did not cause any major flooding or debris flows.
Refugio Road in the middle of the fire area remained open to residents only, according to the county Office of Emergency Management.
“Be aware that flooding and debris may still be present in the area,” OEM said. “Never drive, swim or walk into floodwaters. Turn around, don’t drown! Flood waters can also hide hazards such as washed out road surfaces and large rocks. Be cautious of potential rock fall when traveling roads and avoid traveling at night. Be aware of emergency and road crews in the area.”
The storm was forecast to drop 1-3 inches of rain on the Santa Barbara South Coast area, causing concern that high-intensity rainfall could lead to post-fire flooding and debris flows for the area burned by the recent Alisal Fire.
Rainfall monitors show storm totals above 4 inches for some mountain areas on the South Coast, including 4.54 inches on the Refugio Pass above the Alisal Fire burn scar.
Downtown Santa Barbara had received 1.27 inches of rain as of 3 p.m., and city fire officials said there was no flooding or damage reported in the Loma Fire area.
The county plans to lower the level of activation at the Emergency Operations Center Monday, spokeswoman Gina DePinto said.
Flood Control District and transportation crews are checking county roads, but have not discovered major issues, she said.
“A lot of the work that they did before the rain probably helped Refugio Road handle it so well,” she said, referencing debris clearing and tree-falling along the roadway last week.
Emergency managers were concerned about storm impacts to Refugio Canyon since there was so much fire activity in that area during the Alisal Fire, which started two weeks ago and burned 16,970 acres.
Twelve homes were destroyed in the wildfire and many of them were along Refugio Road.
National Weather Service forecasters said last week that the storm should be “mostly beneficial” to the county, bringing much-needed rain without major flooding or debris flows, and it appeared that way as of Monday afternoon.
The 24-hour rainfall totals for Santa Barbara County as of 4:30 p.m. showed 1-2 inches of rainfall for most stations in the Santa Maria Valley, Lompoc Valley and Santa Ynez Valley, and coastal areas of the Goleta Valley, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria Valley areas.
South Coast mountain areas received more rain, with 2-5 inches of rainfall recorded. The spots with the most rainfall include San Marcos Pass, with 4.54 inches, Tecolote Canyon with 3.55 inches, and Refugio Pass with 3.54 inches.
Even with Monday’s storm, the county is at a 10-year low for rainfall.
A High Surf Advisory remained in effect for South Coast Beach, with forecasters warning about breaking waves of 4 to 7 feet with dangerous rip currents.
The advisory will end at 3 a.m. Wednesday.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
