#Montecitomudslides

It’s been just about nine months since the Montecito Debris Flow killed 23 people and destroyed homes, bridges and roadways. Now that the immediate pain of the disaster has abated a bit, but before too much time passes that people start forgetting, a group of researchers at UC Santa Barbara are studying the disaster in a coordinated effort.

After nearly two months of cleaning up after the January 9, 2018 debris flow, this week's rainstorm brought more stormwater flowing down Montecito's creek's and drainage areas. 

As homeowners and businesses continue to clean and rebuild, county officials are reminding people to follow the set guidelines for clearing properties. KCBX's Tyler Pratt sat down with Thomas Fayram of the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department to learn more.

Santa Barbara County officials sent out a warning Tuesday evening of a coming storm that could bring more debris flows to areas scarred by recent fires.  But late Wednesday afternoon, the county said it doesn't plan to upgrade that evacuation warning to mandatory. Instead county officials issued a flash flood watch. 

Santa Barbara County officials are asking Montecito residents to suggest ideas on how to rebuild. After the January 9 mudslides and debris flow destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least 21 people, crews have been working around the clock to remove hundreds of tons of mud, dirt and boulders from Montecito’s streets. In the process, county staff are trying to make longer term decisions about what’s next.