Edhat Staff(Mike Eliason photos)
Update by the County of Santa Barbara
4:00 p.m., January 8, 2018
A voluntary Evacuation Warning has been issued for parts of Tepusquet Canyon near the Alamo Fire Burn Area, east of Santa Maria.
This storm is expected to produce heavy rain, high winds, and extremely dangerous flash flooding, mud and debris flows in and below recent burn areas. If you are in the Evacuation Warning area, you should stay alert to changing conditions and BE PREPARED to leave at a moment’s notice. You do not need to wait for a mandatory order to leave. If you feel threatened, you can make the decision to leave immediately.
Source: County of Santa Barbara
January 7, 2018
Evacuations have been issued for areas below the Thomas, Whittier, Sherpa and Rey Fire Burn Areas beginning at 12 pm (noon) on Monday, January 8, 2018, due to an approaching winter storm.
This strong storm is expected to produce heavy rain, high winds and extremely dangerous flash flooding, mud and debris flows. Flash floods, mud and debris flows can happen with little or no warning. It is important that you understand the seriousness of the situation and follow the direction of authorities.
A MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER has been issued for unincorporated parts of Santa Barbara County, Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria including all areas NORTH of Hwy 192, EAST of Cold Springs Road, and WEST of Hwy 150/the County line. Also included in this Order are the areas along Tecolote Canyon, Eagle Canyon, Dos Pueblos Canyon, Gato Canyon, and the Whittier burn areas near Goleta. People in these areas should take action to leave no later than 12 pm (noon) Monday.
A VOLUNTARY EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for all areas SOUTH of Hwy 192 to the ocean and EAST of Hot Springs Road/Olive Mill Road to Hwy 150/the County line. People in these areas should stay alert to changing conditions and be prepared to leave immediately. If the situation worsens or you feel threatened, leave immediately or take protective actions.
Do not delay in taking action to protect you, your family, your animals and your property. If you fail to take action and decide to stay in these areas, you could be stranded with no way for rescuers to reach you if you need help.
An evacuation center will be set up and announced on Monday, January 8, 2018.To determine if your property is in the impact area, please go to www.countyofsb.org and refer to the interactive map. If you do not have access to the Internet, or need assistance evacuating, call 211 or (800) 400-1572.
County Cancels Community Meeting
Heavy rain, wind and possible flash flooding is expected for parts of Santa Barbara County beginning tomorrow afternoon through Tuesday and possibly beyond. As it may not be safe for the public to be on the roads as the storm intensifies, the County has canceled a planned community meeting tomorrow about the increased risk of debris and mud flows due to the Thomas Fire burn area. The meeting was scheduled to be at 5 p.m. at the County Administration.
With the burn scar created by the Thomas Fire, the threat of flash floods and debris/mud flows is now 10 times greater than before the fire. It is important that the public understand the seriousness of this situation and not delay in taking action to protect their self, family and property.
For information, to watch a video of the press conference held on Friday, Jan. 5, and to use the interactive Flood/Debris Flow Risk Area Map, go to www.countyofsb.org. Since the map went live on January 5, it has been viewed more than 60,000 times. If the public does not have access to the Internet or needs assistance accessing the map, please call 211 from the 805 area code, or toll free 800-400-1572.
If you are not yet registered for alerts from Aware and Prepare, you should do so NOW – do not wait. To register, go to www.awareandprepare.org.
2 tenths of inch so far at my house in the Noleta foothills. Between the last storm and this one my rain gauge has measured 4 tenths of an inch. Beyond this report I’ll make no further comments.
Have you actually *LOOKED AT* the forecast? It’s the overnight hours that hold the most rain. Or does our society’s penchant for instant gratification apply to the weather, too?
I am just loving this rain, what little we’ve received so far by 6:20 am. I hope this is not the deluge they predicted because we do need all we can get, but of course I don’t want all the flooding and mud slides either so I’m kinda torn between the two potential outcomes.
My N95 mask, which I’ve been wearing since December 4th (even to bed) got wet in the rain today. Should I dry it out or continue to wear it while wet? I am afraid to take it off.
WHO is predicting 9 inches? Clearly they are fear mongering since the rest are only forecasting up to 4 inches, which is bad enough.
Nothing to do with instant gratification and everything to do with being mis-lead. Earlier reports had us having inches of rain, flooding, and mud slides by now. Not on and off again gentle showers amounting to less then an inch in 2 days.
1) Nobody can be forced to evacuate.
2) What have you got against public safety?
Rain, 9 inches predicted for south facing slopes, a record. Overnight. This is serious.
When I see it, I’ll believe it. The meteorologists/weathermen have been wrong before.
The totally out of touch rain forecast and even much worse the amateurish way in which fire prevention is dealt with : Absolutely NO preparedness in fighting fires before they turn into a cataclysm. Thomas Fire should have been put out within 2 hours. California has no equipment and no readiness to deal with such events. And their answer is : “Oh ! Well ! That’s just “normal”, so don’t expect us to do anything about it” ..
You really are out of touch with reality, especially with regard to firefighting. Since you aren’t keeping up with things with regard to the rainfall forecast, here’s the latest: Area Forecast Discussion…UPDATED
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
703 PM PST Mon Jan 8 2018
.SYNOPSIS…
Rain will become heavy, especially in isolated thunderstorms with
gusty south winds tonight into early Tuesday as a cold front
pushes through the region. Behind the front Tuesday, rain and
mountain snow will become showery in nature with a continued
slight chance of thunderstorms. A warming and drying trend is
expected Wednesday through this weekend.
&&
.UPDATE…
Forecast is pretty much on track though looking at satellite and
the 00Z computer runs it looks like perhaps the timing is running
2 to 3 hours slower than previously through. Still no change in
the forecast amounts or intensities.
Rainfall amounts this afternoon were close to forecast and if
anything it looks like the foothill areas (esp in LA county)
received a little more rain than forecast.
Satellite and radar show the rain easing up across most of the
area and this is consistent with the hi-rez mdls the National
Computer center are running specifically for this event. Still
have to be cognizant of the fact that upslope flow over the
foothills and coastal slopes can produce significant rainfall
amounts that the radars do not see.
What looks likely for the overnight forecast is that the lull will
persist until around midnight. When the cold front nears the
Central Coast the south winds will increase across the entire
areas and this along with an increase in PVA will dramatically
increase the rainfall esp over the foothills.
Peak rainfall rates associated with the front will occur over
Southern SBA county between 2am and 5am, over VTA county 4am to
7am, and LA county just in time for rush hour 7am to 10am.
TSTMs look more and more likely with this event as better than
expected instability lift and cape move into the area with and
behind the front. The TSTM threat will persist through the day on
Tuesday and any storms that form will be capable or producing
damaging winds and/or flooding rains.
The wind warnings and advisories are limping along right now due
to the slower than expected arrival of the storm. The winds will
increase across the area through the evening starting across the
Central Coast and then working their to the east.
Thomas Fire should have been put out in 2 hours Were you there? Have you ever been in a fire storm Go blow your hot air somewhere else…
This is the only time I’ve seen anyone predicting 9 inches. Where are you talking about? Seattle?
Part of the agenda of these alt-fact trolling meatbots is to cast FUD on anything concerning weather and climate prediction, government services and public servants, or civil rights and common human decency. Just ignore them or down-vote them out of sight rather than playing their game and letting them get to you.
Yes, this is likely to be MUCH worse than the fire for anyone in the wrong place tonight. I’ve just been looking at the generally accurate 24 hour government rain forecasts we sometimes use for flight planning, and posted some maps on SBitZ.NET showing a total of 7 inches likely along the county line thru the Thomas Fire burn. There won’t be time to get out of the way, or protect property like during the fire. This will almost certainly be worse than the rain a decade or so ago, that killed a judge and destroyed his new house on Sycamore Creek. Sure hope everyone’s somewhere safe tonight!
A lot of people being rescued many injuries possible loss of life Homes destroyed burned, gas lines ruptured, people unaccounted for….Here is your gentle rain know it all.
I guess the cry baby don’t like my comment.