County officials ordered evacuations for the entire Montecito community and several other areas Monday afternoon due to the threat of flash flooding and forecast for more intense rainfall.

Creeks were overflowing and flooding nearby roadways and neighborhoods across the county. Multiple vehicle rescues were underway in the city of Santa Barbara Monday afternoon to get drivers out of their submerged cars.

A Flash Flood Warning emergency alert went out to phones in Santa Barbara County around 11 a.m. Monday morning warning people, “this is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

The warning is in effect until 4:45 p.m.

“Based on the continuing high rate of rainfall with no indication that that is going to change before nightfall, we are issuing the evacuation orders now,” Sheriff Bill Brown said around noon.

The evacuation orders are in effect immediately for Montecito; Toro Canyon; Padaro Lane; Sycamore Canyon; Old San Marcos Pass area below Painted Cave; Via Real between Highway 101 and Santa Claus Lane in the Carpinteria Valley; and campgrounds at Gaviota, El Capitan, Refugio and Carpinteria state beaches.

Schools will be closing within evacuation areas, and students should be picked up immediately, Brown said.

“This is not a day to be out doing anything unless you have to,” Brown said.

Montecito has received more than 8 inches of rain in the last 12 hours and another 8 inches is predicted to fall in the Monday-Tuesday storm, Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor said. The watershed is acting unpredictably, according to firefighters on the ground there, he added.

Asked why the mandatory evacuations were expanded to all of Montecito, Taylor said personnel in the field were seeing severe enough conditions that “we were not comfortable with just evacuating the areas identified as at risk in the the storm impact maps.”

He acknowledged that parts of the community are not at risk from flooding or debris flows, but officials are worried that residents in those areas will not be able to get in or out.

“In an abundance of caution,” the decision was made to expand the evacuation zone,” he told Noozhawk.

Officials feel it is safe for people to evacuate, if they do so soon, Taylor said, noting that heavier rainfall is forecast for later Monday afternoon into the evening.

“It’s a very, very concerning forecast,” he said.

“We’re having issue in all the normal spots,” he added, “every creek, every creek crossing and road crossing.”

Some Montecito-area debris basins are already filled and expected to cause flooding in downstream residential areas, and possibly on Highway 101, Brown said.

Storm-related information and evacuation maps will be available at readysbc.org.

An evacuation center is open at the SBCC Wake Campus at 300 N. Turnpike.

The county call center is open at 833.688.5551.

County officials announced a shelter-in-place order at 11 a.m. but the threat of more intense rain without a break caused them to order evacuations now.

Monday is the 5-year anniversary of the deadly Montecito debris flows that killed 23 people, injured dozens more, and damaged hundreds of homes.

“We are exactly five years removed from the 1/9 debris flow, and our watershed is saturated. In the last 30 days we’ve had 20 inches of rain. We’ve had 5 inches of rain since 3 a.m. this morning,” said Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor. “The community is at risk of a second debris flow from the Thomas Fire burn scar.”

More than 200 rescue staff are positioned in the community, he said.

A shelter-in-place order is in effect for Refugio Canyon on the Gaviota Coast, since Refugio Road is impassable due to flooding.

There were multiple vehicle rescues reported in the city of Santa Barbara Monday afternoon due to flooding, including at the Castillo Street underpass of Highway 101.

Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service said rainfall rates of 1 inch per hour have already been recorded on the South Coast, and rates are expected to get even higher in the Monday afternoon hours until 6 p.m.

“This is a powerful storm,” he said.

Foothill areas have already received 5-7 inches on the South Coast, and by the end of these storms, there could be a foot of rain, Boldt said.

There is potential for a lot of dangerous flash flooding and high winds, he said. A rainfall rate of 1.25 inches per hour has been observed, which is enough to cause debris flows in recent burn areas and outside recent burn areas, Boldt said.

There will be a lull in activity early Monday night, but there will be a “second wave” of more showers and thunderstorms later Monday night and into Tuesday morning, he said.

County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said there are rescue teams and responders staged throughout the county, and they have already conducted a water rescue in the Refugio Canyon area.

The Santa Barbara Airport closed at midday Monday due to flooding, according to airport spokeswoman Angi Daus.

All commercial flight are canceled for the remained of Monday, Daus said, adding that passengers should contact their airlines for more information.

The terminal was being closed as of Monday afternoon.

County emergency management officials had announced evacuation warnings for South Coast communities on Sunday.

The evacuation order applies to more communities than the ones identified in the warning map, which are areas that recently burned in wildfires (Refugio Canyon and parts of the Gaviota Coast for the 2021 Alisal Fire; the San Marcos Pass area for the 2019 Cave Fire; and Montecito and Carpinteria Valley areas for the 2017 Thomas Fire.)

Mudslides, rockslides and flooding caused widespread highway and local road closures Monday.

Northbound Highway 101 lanes were closed between Mariposa Reina on the Gaviota Coast and Highway 1 due to debris flows, and then State Route 154 was closed in both directions between the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara.

That cuts off any northbound travel from Santa Barbara on the highways, and drivers will have to detour via Interstate 5 (accessed in Ventura County) during the closures, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Highway 101 was also closed between State Route 150 in Carpinteria and Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara due to flooding, with no estimated reopening time.

The CHP and Caltarns asked people to avoid time on the roads as much as possible Monday due to the storm conditions.

Highway 135 was closed between Los Alamos and Harris Grade Road, and Highway 1 was closed between Black Road and Solomon in Santa Maria due to flooding.

Check Caltrans’ Quickmap for highway closures here.

Check Santa Barbara County road closures on the Public Works map here.

Residents all over the county were sharing photos and videos of flooding on Monday. Many creeks are overflowing into nearby neighborhoods and roadways.

Storm Preparedness Resources

Resources for Santa Barbara County residents include the 2-1-1 information hotline, as well as readysbc.org, where residents can register for emergency alerts, view evacuation maps and emergency preparedness information, and where emergency notifications will be posted.

Sandbag collection areas are available across the county, and a full list of locations can be found here. 

Power outages are possible because of the heavy rain and high winds in the storm, and Southern California Edison said customers can report or inquire about power outages at 800.611.1911 and get the latest outage information at sce.com/outages.

The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management is posting storm-related updates on its readysbc.org website.

Check the weather forecast and for local hazard notices at weather.gov.

Click here for the latest Santa Barbara weather forecast.