Storms lead reservoirs to approach or exceed capacity; more high surf ahead
Blue skies Monday give way to dark clouds hovering above State Street. More noticeable at times was the cold wind.
The forecast calls for dry weather and cool temperatures over the next several days, and the county’s reservoirs are near or over capacity, with Lake Cachuma reaching 89.4% of capacity.
But residents are being advised to watch out for coastal flooding due to high surf and tides despite the good news of sunny skies ahead.
“The main thing is surf conditions and coastal flooding,” Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service-Los Angeles/Oxnard, told the News-Press Monday.
The county should see large waves this week — 4 to 7 feet along the South Coast and 8 to 14 feet along the Central Coast — plus higher tides due to the new moon where “the water level goes higher up on the beach,” she said. “There might be flooding of some beach parking lots.”
As a result, the NWS has issued a flood advisory for “nuisance flooding” in urban areas and small streams, and extended its surf advisory along the central and south coasts.
The county’s emergency operations center, however, was taking no chances Saturday, warning residents that with the heavy rains from recent storms, the creeks and rivers of Santa Barbara County were flowing at a high level.
“While our creeks often appear tranquil, they carry a deadly force,” officials said. “Don’t underestimate the power of moving water that can cause injuries and deaths. Be prepared and aware.”
Keeping this in mind, the forecast still looks good for the rest of the week going into the weekend, Ms. Stewart said.
“It looks a lot more quiet” as compared to last week’s huge storm that dumped 5 inches of rain in Santa Barbara and 12-18 inches of rain in the mountains, she said.
‘We’re back to dry conditions. It should be cool in the 50s, with some breezy winds here and there.”
The weekend, she said, should be “mostly sunny and cooler.”
The two small storms that hit the county Friday into Saturday, and Sunday into Monday, were nothing like the massive storm Jan. 9 and 10 that caused creek and urban flooding and debris flow, and led to the evacuation of Montecito residents.
“They were definitely a notch or two weaker than the last one,” Ms. Stewart said. They were similar in terms of high winds and surf, “but there was a lot less rain.”
Nevertheless, the weekend’s storm did increase the inch count for rain.
The city of Santa Barbara got 2.73 inches of rain; UCSB, 1.82 inches; Goleta Fire Station, 2.20 inches; northern Santa Maria, 1.82 inches, Santa Maria Airport, 1.5 inches; Lompoc, 1.59 inches; Santa Ynez, 2.33 inches; Montecito, 2.33 inches; and Carpinteria, 1.39 inches.
And the weekend’s rain did help continue to fill the county’s water reservoirs besides Lake Cachuma. As of Monday, the Gibraltar reservoir was at 100.7% of capacity, the Jameson reservoir was at 101.2% and the Twitchell Reservoir was at 30.6%.
Even as county officials announced Monday that work was continuing to clean up from the recent storms, Caltrans was taking no chances when it comes to warning motorists of hazardous road conditions.
On Highway 101, southbound traffic was reduced to one lane six miles south of Santa Maria at Clark Avenue due to flooding.
State Route 154 was closed from 2.3 miles east to 2.8 miles east of the junction with Highway 101 in Los Olivos due to emergency repairs. The highway was closed from the junction of State Route 192 to the junction of State Route 246 due to flooding. In both cases, motorists were advised to take alternative routes.
Regarding the clean up, the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department announced Monday that it has closed public access to Goleta Beach Park at Sandspit Road due to emergency beach nourishment operations.
Operations began Jan. 11 and will continue as needed until facilities have been cleared. Work will occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week for approximately the first 10 days. This will help to complete the process sooner, protect the communities below impacted basins and minimize beach closures, according to the county.
Large rocks and debris from basins below the Cave and Thomas Fire burn areas will be sorted from the basin material before it is transferred to the beach.
Santa Barbara County proclaimed a local emergency on Jan. 9 due to the January 2023 storm impacts. Goleta Beach Park is an active emergency response site under this declaration and state and federal emergency declarations. Beach nourishment operations are conducted through emergency permits from state and federal agencies.
Flood Control staff will take sediment samples from the debris basins and ocean water samples during operations. Weekly reports with information on sediment sampling results are sent to regulatory agencies. Beach nourishment operations have also protected Goleta Beach Park from further erosion by creating a wide shore near, and adjacent to, the location of the sediment deposit.
For public safety, access to the Obern Trail path will be open to commuters. People are asked not to use the path for recreational use. Commuters should not stop for any reason as they traverse the trail within the park.
In addition, the County Office of Emergency Management announced Monday that recovery and assistance resources are available to the community through readysbc.org.
This online location of resources serves as a single point of access for essential resources and services available for residents who are beginning the process of rebuilding and recovery, following the storm’s impact.
In addition to online resources, a physical one-stop shop local assistance center was opened for a third consecutive day on Monday in Guadalupe and Orcutt. Clean-up kits for those impacted by the January storms were available at the Local Assistance Centers. Resources from various local, state and federal agencies are available through the LAC, aimed at providing answers to commonly-asked questions and providing important information.
Linkage to counseling and emotional support, resource assistance and other information is available to aid in rebuilding, permitting, hazardous materials clean-up, housing assistance, loss of business or employment, basic health and human services, and many other topics.
For questions, call the Call Center at 833-688-5551.
email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com
