Rain started to fall by 7 this morning in Santa Barbara County, signaling the start of a storm whose forecast prompted an evacuation order for part of the Alisal Fire burn area.
By 7 a.m., 0.08 inch had fallen by Vandenberg Space Force Base and 0.15 inch in Los Alamos, according to local weather reports. Rain was seen this morning in Goleta and Santa Barbara. The storm was expected to be well under way in the county by mid-morning.
In Santa Barbara County, rain between 0.3 to 0.6 inch an hour is forecast in the area by Refugio Road and Highway 101, according to local weather reports. On Friday, officials had expressed concern about the risk of a debris flow in the Alisal Fire burn area.
The storm is expected to level off by this afternoon.
A sign by the Alisal burn scar urges caution.
Earlier, rain was falling rapidly in San Luis Obispo County during the storm, which has been called a “bomb cyclone” and is moving from north to south along the West Coast. It has led to flash flooding in Northern California and several traffic accidents in San Luis Obispo County.
