Mudslides, flooding and fallen trees caused dozens of road closures throughout Santa Barbara County Friday, and major highways were shut down within a few hours of the heavy rain hitting the Central Coast.
Mud made its way across both northbound lanes of Highway 101 near La Conchita, between Carpinteria and Ventura, and a flash flood warning was issued for the nearby Solimar Fire burn area.
Authorities closed down northbound Highway 101 at the Seacliff exit Friday afternoon, and later at Highway 33, and diverted cars southbound.
One northbound lane was opened at La Conchita by Saturday morning, while crews continued to work on the mudflow clean-up.
On Friday, there was 2-3 feet of standing mud blocking the northbound lanes from the slide at La Conchita, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Jon Gutierrez from the Santa Barbara office.
“It should be open in a matter of hours once the rain lets up and it can drain,” said Michael Comeaux, public information officer for Caltrans District 7, at 6 p.m. Friday night.
Highway 192 was closed Saturday between Coyote Road to Westmont Road because of downed trees and power lines and was expected to stay closed all day, according to Caltrans.
Authorities closed Highway 154 between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez early Friday, after reports of downed trees and roadway flooding in several areas.
The closure was in place Friday night between Cathedral Oaks Road on the Santa Barbara side and Highway 246 on the Santa Ynez side.
Caltrans reported the roadway was open Saturday morning, as was North County’s Highway 166, which was closed due to widespread flooding.
Highway 166 was closed between Highway 101 south of Nipomo all the way to Highway 5 near Bakersfield because of flooding on Friday, according to Caltrans.
Click here to check highway conditions from Caltrans.
Click here for updated information on county road closures.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— 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.
