A senior mobile home park along Sycamore Creek is preparing for the possibility of flooding, as the city takes precautions ahead of potentially heavy rain.
The Flamingo Mobile Home Park has experienced flooding in the past, including most recently in 2021. For longtime residents, the threat is familiar.
Glenita Uriarte has lived at the park for 62 years and remembers one of the most severe floods in 1995.
“I’m thinking we’re gonna get a flood,” Uriarte said.
Uriarte said water rose to about 2 feet during the 1995 flooding, prompting an evacuation.
“The water was like two feet out here, and then they made us evacuate,” she said. “And I didn’t want to go. I was scared to death.”
While Uriarte and her loved ones made it to safety, she said the cleanup afterward was extensive.
“We had to clean the mud out of everything, all through in here,” she said.
The city is taking additional precautions around Sycamore Creek as it prepares for the possibility of heavy rainfall.
Brian D’Amour, Santa Barbara’s public works director, said crews are taking a more proactive approach to potential hazards around the creek.
“Maybe in normal rain years, we would say, ‘Let’s just keep an eye out on that,’” D’Amour said. “There’s less of that happening now. If there’s a question in our minds now, we’re leaning more towards, ‘We gotta go do it.’”
Those preparations include removing excessive vegetation and clearing potential obstructions that could affect the flow of water during a storm.
D’Amour also urged residents to pay attention to changing conditions and take action if they feel unsafe.
“Don’t wait for the alert,” he said. “Pay attention to what’s going on around you, and if you feel uncomfortable or you need to relocate, go and do that.”
For residents who have experienced flooding before, the preparations are a reminder that conditions can change quickly.
Uriarte said her experience has made her especially aware of the risks when heavy rain moves into the area.
Residents can find emergency preparedness information, alerts and resources through ReadySBC, Santa Barbara County’s emergency preparedness resource.
