Additional Rain Brings Impact Worries with Saturated Hills
John Palminteri
SUMMERLAND, Calif. (KEYT) – The November and December rains, stronger than most forecasters saw coming, have left behind worries on the South Coast.
Before the year can even come to a close, the hills are saturated and the magnitude of the rains have filled and spilled three reservoirs including Cachuma Lake.
Hillsides are soaking in water like a sponge and some are coming close to crumbling.
In Summerland, there’s already been a slide on Greenwell Ave. that has closed the street from Asegra to Ortega Ridge Road. Santa Barbara County Public Works is watching it closely, and advisories have gone out.
Signs that were up recently are now moved to the side of the road. The area is still very mushy along the shoulders and some areas have washed down but cars can get through without an issue.
“I was surprised that the road was actually closed because it often has mudflow across the road but it has never been enough to close the road altogether,” said a longtime resident Leslie Robinson. “I don’t know of any history of having a landslide there just mudflow because there is a creek on either side of the road.”
A slide more than six years ago on Ortega Ridge Road was repaired with a uniquely crafted stone wall that is holding in an area where two lanes are safetly open. During the slide and repair project it was one lane with alternating traffic.
In Ventura County, the Sheriff’s Department has alerted residents in the tiny town of La Conchita on the coast about a possible slide. Rainfall totals have matched those that preceded the slides in 1995 and 2005 that took ten lives and crushed homes. The freeway in the same area had flooding impacts last weekend.
Residents in La Conchita were advised to relocate during the last storm. It is unclear if any did.
On both Santa Barbara and Ventura beaches, boats have come ashore. One, a 50-footer in Ventura has been crushed by the TowBoatUS – Ventura crew after it began coming apart on the beach.
A sailboat that broke down or came from its anchorage, was tipping into the shoreline and coastal waves where it plowed into East Beach last week.
San Marcos Pass has held up well, even after taking in 14 inches of rain this month.
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