Smoke pours from a drainage culvert along northbound Highway 101 in Santa Barbara early Monday. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, the found a body inside the culvert. (Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photo)
Firefighters douse a blaze in and around a drainage culvert under Highway 101 in Santa Barbara, just west of the Salinas Street entrance ramp. (Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photo)
Firefighters discovered a body early Monday after putting out a fire in a drainage culvert under Highway 101 near Milpas Street on Santa Barbara’s Lower Eastside.
Crews were dispatched shortly after 2 a.m. after smoke was reported billowing along the northbound freeway, about a quarter-mile west of the Salinas Street entrance ramp, Santa Barbara Fire Engineer Kevin Corbett said.
The site is along a freeway sound wall about 200 yards east of Milpas Street.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames coming from a 4-foot-high drainage pipe, authorities said.
Emergency personnel at the scene told Noozhawk the body was found about 100 feet inside the concrete culvert, which has a black PVC lining and serves a development on the north side of the freeway just east of Milpas Street.
Details about the dead individual have not been released.
Two of the freeway’s three northbound lanes were shut down for several hours, Corbett said, but as of 7:45 a.m., only one remained closed.
The lane closures led to major traffic congestion during the morning commute.
Firefighters discovered a body early Monday after dousing a fire in a drainage conduit under Highway 101 in Santa Barbara.
Crews were dispatched shortly after 2 a.m. to a report of smoke near the Salinas Street onramp to the northbound freeway, according to Engineer Kevin Corbett of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department dispatch.
They found smoke and flames coming from a 4-foot-high drainage pipe, according to Santa Barbara City Fire Department dispatch.
Personnel on scene told Noozhawk the body was found about 100 feet inside the pipe, which was has a black PVC lining and serves a development on the inland side of the freeway.
Details on the person found dead were not released.
Two northbound lanes of the freeway were shut down for several hours, Corbett said, and as of 7:45 a.m., only one remained closed.
Coroner’s personnel responded and recovered the remains, Corbett said.
The incident and death remained under investigation.
Santa Barbara firefighters investigate after a fire was extinguised in a drainage culvert under Highway 101 near Salinas Street. A body was found inside the pipe. (Urban Hikers / Noozhawk photo)
