The Santa Barbara and Montecito areas saw intense winds and heavy rainfall this morning leading to the flooding of residential areas and creek beds.
As mandatory evacuations forced much of Montecito to hunker down elsewhere, there was at least one store left open on Coast Village Road early Saturday morning to fuel the first responders and those who stayed behind.
“Police are well protecting the area, keeping looters out, and I’ve never been so protected in my life,” Tom Gulisano said, a clerk at The Point Market. “I mean I got police in here all night long, in groups.”
Gulisano said he watched as families left the area once again, not knowing what they’d find when they came back.
If you’re looking to use Padaro Lane to avoid the 101 being closed, bad news. This road is now flooded and Carp Summerland Fire says so much debris hit the bridge, county crews need to make sure it’s still structurally sound @KSBY pic.twitter.com/Nja0K8PEi4
— Melissa Newman (@melnewmantv) February 2, 2019
“They come through in the family vehicle and it’s stuffed with people and dogs and artwork and whatever they can fit into it. But this one hasn’t been as bad as the last one, it’s been pretty calm,” he said.
Along Olive Mill Road, we found a Casa Dorinda employee who had to trek through the wind and rain to still make it to work.
“It makes me a little bit nervous because from where I come from, we don’t have disasters like what happen here and I heard about the disaster that happened last year so I’m a little bit scared to be honest,” Marenla Pando said.
Roadway flooding and debris became a major concern for several Santa Barbara neighborhoods. One family is now left having to rebuild after a tree came crashing through their house.
The biggest destruction we’ve seen from the storm so far – 100 ft tree down into a Santa Barbara home. SB Fire says the people inside are okay @KSBY pic.twitter.com/3epECnlZmK
— Melissa Newman (@melnewmantv) February 2, 2019
