During the heavy storm of January 9, 2023, Mud Lake in Orcutt overflowed, spilling rainwater into the neighborhood and shutting down nearby streets.
Ahead of another round of rain, storm preparations are underway in the community.
Friday morning, Aaron Bilow was walking his dog near Mud Lake when we spoke with him about the impacts of the infamous January 9 storm.
“I have lived here for 12 years in the same house, and this was certainly the worst storm that we have had,” Bilow said.
Jill Murdock, another homeowner in the neighborhood, says the storm left residential streets flooded and closed off for days.
“It just kept getting deeper and deeper and deeper. I walk this way every day, and finally, they closed the road off, put up barricades. The water was up to the people’s sidewalks here,” Murdock explained.
But with another potential rainy winter ahead, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services is encouraging residents to get prepared by installing sandbags around properties and signing up for emergency alerts.
Greg Flores, a supervisor at Farm Supply Santa Maria, says in the past few days, many people have been coming to the store to stock up.
“That storm is supposed to be here next week with four or five days going on. We have got the rain suits going out, we have got the rain boots going out,” Flores told KSBY. “Everything from the sandbags and straw wattles, tarps. Just about anything you might need for that rain.”
During the January 9 storm, hundreds of homes near Union Valley Parkway were impacted after rushing rainwater overflowed a sinkhole and spilled tons of dirt onto Hibiscus Court.
And while Murdock says her home was spared from storm damage this past winter, she says she is still taking steps to protect her house from the elements.
“Check the gutters and the drain spouts. Then, we also lower the umbrella on our patio furniture, take in the cushions, anything that could blow away or anything,” she said.
Flores, meanwhile, says the series of storms last winter caught his staff by surprise.
“Last year was a phenomenal year where things got a little crazy in the sense that we did not anticipate as many storms as we had. We got a little short on the inventory here, but we are prepped this year. We are ready for this one,” he stated.
Officials with the County Public Works Department say in the past year, crews have also worked to repair damage along Union Valley Parkway to provide additional protection from future storms.
As a reminder, the City of Santa Maria has free sand available for you to use to protect your properties, with multiple sandbag stations spread out across the city.
