The City of Santa Barbara was hit hard by the latest storm.
“Was a creek going down the center. Like, State Street was no longer a street. It was a river,” said Julie Zackrison, the tasting room manager at Institution Ale Co. on the 500 block of State Street.
Video shows State Street turned into a shallow river Saturday night after a heavy downpour. Institution Ale Co. had a front row seat as water rushed down the road.
“Then when that downpour hit, it just took over. Curbs came in, came up the regular sidewalks, covered the pallets, halfway up the flower pots and just flowing like a river,” Zackrison said.
Santa Barbara Police Commander Chris Payne said that when there is significant rainfall, it’s not uncommon to see flooding like this on certain low-lying streets around downtown and that over this weekend, it was about managing the impacts through barricading unsafe streets and pulling cars out of flooded roadways.
“You know, anything more than a half an inch an hour, there's certain streets that are definitely going to flood. And those are the areas that we try and focus our attention on. And again, trying to direct drivers around those areas,” Commander Payne said.
Even on Monday, some areas flooded once again after another heavy dousing of rain.
Flooded roadways included Calle Cesar Chavez where Whitcraft Winery is located. In front of it, water accumulated, leaving it difficult for vehicles to pass through.
“But every year somebody goes through there and the water, as they dip through that, that low point water comes over the hood and the car usually stalls,” said Chris Paul Bacon, Whitcraft Winery associate.
One store owner on State Street indicated that some of the flooding came into their shop through the back.
While there were many businesses that were not impacted, the flooding was still noticeable.
“Everybody gathered around the windows and the doors and were taking videos and watching the guy boogie board down the street,” Zackrison said.
Commander Payne recommends avoiding travel during storms and being mindful of the depth of water on some of the streets.
