Risk of More Montecito Flood Devastation Is Just a Downpour Away
canada goose premium outlet As Montecito continues the slow and difficult process goose outlet canada of recovering and healing from the deadly flash flooding, mud and debris flows that devastated the area nearly a month ago, there are some questions weighing heavily on many residents minds: canada goose premium outlet
How worried should we be about the next big storm?
Could there be a recurrence of the massive rain induced mud and debris flows that claimed 23 lives, injured more than two dozen people, destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes, and canada goose outlet shattered the usually peaceful vibe of bucolic Montecito?
the risk will be greater than it was before the storm, Rob Lewin, director of Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management, official canada goose outlet told Noozhawk in a recent interview.
drainages canada goose jacket outlet are still chock full of debris and rocks. The canada goose outlet online debris basins that protect us are full and can take any more. Creek channels have been disrupted and they have choke points. will take less rainfall than the intense downfall that triggered the Jan. 9 disaster canada goose black friday sale to cause significant problems in Montecito, he said.
canada goose outlet new york community is going to need to be in a state of readiness over the next few years canada goose outlet , Lewin said. going to canada goose outlet in usa take that long for this to heal. Until then, we have a threat. Fayram, Santa Barbara County deputy public works director and head of its Water Resources Division, echoes Lewin assessment, and points out that the danger will canada goose outlet store not diminish anytime soon. Army Corps of Engineers and contractors canada goose outlet uk clear out the Cold Spring Debris Basin in late January. Removing the tons of rock and debris from Santa Barbara County 13 catch canada goose outlet shop basins above Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria is key to lessening risks of future mud and debris flows in communities below the Thomas Fire burn area. (Tom Bolton / Noozhawk photo) canada goose outlet new york
canada goose jacket outlet toronto a real flood risk that will be here for a few years, Fayram told Noozhawk. worse right now because of the state of those creek channels. There still hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of stuff in there that could be taken out. canada goose jacket outlet toronto
canada goose outlet online store review forward, the hillsides are still going to be basically bare for several years. I always use short as three years and as long as five years as a time frame. The elevated flood risk is still there. Lewin and Fayram point out that crucial to reducing the danger from future storms is clearing out the county 13 debris basins, which straddle the creeks in the foothills from Santa Barbara through Montecito and Summerland to Carpinteria. canada goose outlet online store review
These man made structures small dams placed across the creeks in the wake of flooding following the 65,339 acre Coyote Fire in 1964 provide a critical line of defense against storm runoff, mud and debris flows.
They worked largely as designed during the Jan. 9 downpour, but were no match for the volume of material ripped out of the mountains by an intense burst of rainfall more than a half inch of rain fell in five minutes, and almost an inch came down in 15 minutes.
canada goose outlet in vancouver All of the basins were quickly filled to capacity with mud, boulders, trees and other debris, and there was nowhere for the remainder of the damaging flows to go but downhill into the neighborhoods below. canada goose outlet in vancouver
canada goose outlet black friday sale Most susceptible were the homes and people living along and near Cold Spring, Hot Springs, Montecito, San Ysidro and Romero creeks. canada goose outlet black friday sale
Tom Fayram, Santa Barbara County’s canada goose outlet toronto factory deputy public works director and head of its Water Resources Division, warns that some of the biggest risks are not even in creek beds right now. “There’s so much debris lying out there on the side of the road, on people’s property that if the creek flows break out of the banks, then they could mobilize some of that sediment and put it back on the roadway,” he says. Army Corp of Engineers has been working around the clock to empty out the basins in anticipation of the next big rain.
canada goose jacket outlet uk It a daunting task, and the volume of material that must be moved is hard to comprehend until you are standing on the canada goose outlet jackets edge of one of the basins. canada goose jacket outlet uk
canada goose outlet new york city Much like a line of ants, fleets of dump trucks and semi tractor trailers form a constant procession near each debris dam, where they are quickly filled and then depart to disposal sites. Scroll down the page for video of debris basin cleanup. canada goose outlet new york city
canada goose outlet los angeles It slow work, and despite what Fayram calls progress, only 38 percent of the material in the basins had been removed as of Friday. canada goose outlet los angeles
That figure is somewhat misleading, because nearly a third of the material was in the giant Santa Monica Debris Basin above Carpinteria, which benefits from a high capacity https://www.canadagoosejacketonlines.ca , concrete lined channel downstream.
Work has been completed at the Cold Spring, Montecito, San Ysidro, Franklin and Gobernador creek debris dams, Fayram said Friday, and continues at the Romero, Upper West Toro, Lower West Toro, East Toro, Santa Monica and Arroyo Paridon basins.
canada goose kensington parka uk Those that have not been cleared will be of limited use in the event of another big storm. canada goose kensington parka uk
canada goose outlet winnipeg address Of equal if not greater concern to Fayram is the fact that the stream courses in the area especially Montecito, San Ysidro and Romero creeks are still mostly clogged with boulders, mud and debris. canada goose outlet winnipeg address
canada goose outlet parka The view looking up Cold Spring Creek near the trailhead on East Mountain Drive. The creek in that area, below the Thomas Fire burn area, has been scoured down to bedrock, with much of that material deposited on the neighborhoods below. (Tom Bolton / Noozhawk photo) canada goose outlet parka
canada goose outlet in canada at the channels downstream and the reduced capacity now, the creek can take water flow, Fayram said. before that, if we had water flow, it would take it. Now it can So it worse than before that (the big storm) from that aspect. canada goose outlet in canada
risk is if we get a couple inch rainfall, the water that will come off the hillsides will be there, and so we could have flooding outside of the creek banks again.
canada goose outlet online reviews there so much debris lying out there on the side of the road, on people property that if the creek flows break out of the banks, then they could mobilize some of that sediment and put it back canada goose factory outlet on the roadway. We worried about it going back on Highway 101. important to note that Santa Barbara County gets the majority of its precipitation canada goose outlet parka during the winter rainy season, which typically stretches from late October through April. The wettest months, historically, are January and February, followed canada goose outlet canada by March. canada goose outlet online reviews
That means that, despite long range forecasts calling for a drier La Ni winter this year, there is a very real chance of heavy rainfall over the next two to three months. The odds almost require it.
canada goose outlet miami Experts say it usually takes three to five years before a watershed ravaged by a wildfire recovers enough to reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall, although the danger should decline each year as chaparral, with its tenacious root systems, slowly regenerate canada goose outlet miami.
