Burn Scars Cause Concern for the Central Coast Ahead of Incoming Storm
Jarrod Zinn
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are sending out alerts for the first major storm of the season.
“This is our first real storm of the year that we’re looking at that’s going to drop a substantial amount of rain,” says Anita Konopa, SLO County Emergency Services Coordinator. “So it’s a good opportunity for people to just get prepared now.”
Officials say their top concerns are the areas in or near burn scars.
San Luis Obispo county officials are issuing a shelter in place order for the Gifford and Madre burn scar areas and below those areas.
“Both the Gifford and the lake fires burn scars could see some additional potential for mudflows or flooding,” says Kelly Hubbard, Santa Barbara County Emergency Management Director.
The Madre Fire and Gifford Fire are the largest California wildfires in 2025, both burning along Highway 166 this summer.
Combined with the burn scar from the 2024 Lake Fire near the Santa Ynez Valley, there are increased risks of rain water run-off and mudslides in or near 251-thousand acres of burned land.
“With the burn scar, what we have concerns with are really the consideration that the soil now is hydrophobic,” says Hubbard. “Basically what it means is more water will come downhill when it rains. And so there’s this potential for increased flooding increased debris flows, rockfalls as well.”
There are no current plans to close Highway 166 during the storm, but officials from both counties urge caution and preparedness, should you need to drive near any burn scar areas.
“What we’re really looking at is something that’s a little bit more erratic and that there’s going to be cells of strong wind and rain that comes through,” says Konopa. “And that’s kind of going to be the risk here, is that if a cell happens to come into that area, that dumps a lot of rain in a very short period of time, that’s when we could be looking at potential issues.”
Aside from signing up for your county’s emergency alert services, officials recommend having your emergency kit ready, plan for potential power outages, and remain vigilant for flash flooding and mudslides.
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