Residents of Santa Barbara County near wildfire burn areas were under evacuation orders Thursday morning as a strong winter storm passed through the area.
of evacuation order It was issued Wednesday night against some of Arizal, Thomas and Cave’s burn scars. County officials didn’t know the exact number of people under evacuation orders, but Susan Klein Rothschild, a spokesperson for the county’s Emergency Operations Center, said sheriff’s deputies were going door-to-door. said it had contacted at least 480 people.
Among the towns ordered to be evacuated is Montecito, where an overnight downpour five years ago washed huge rocks, mud and debris from the mountains through the town and onto the coastline, killing 23 people and destroying more than 100 homes. of houses were destroyed. The town is home to many celebrities, including Oprah with his wife Winfrey and Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
“What we’re talking about here is a lot of water running off the top of the hill, running into creeks and creeks, gaining momentum as it runs down, and that’s the first danger,” said Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor. rice field.
The storm was expected to peak overnight early Thursday morning, with Santa Barbara and Ventura counties likely to see the most rain.
“We expect this to be one of the most difficult and impactful series of storms to land in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California Governor’s Emergency Services Agency. doing.
The storm is one of last week’s three so-called atmospheric river storms to reach drought-stricken conditions. California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency to allow for a quick response and help clean up from another powerful storm that hit a few days ago.
