Just one year ago, major flooding shut down many roads in the city of Santa Barbara and the surrounding area, even closing down the airport on January 9, 2023.
The historic storm brought torrential rain, mudflows, flooding, evacuations, and damage to Santa Barbara County communities.
Kerry Jones remembers that the storm escalated quickly in their area near Mission Creek in Santa Barbara.
"It started pouring a lot of rain suddenly and the streets around my home flooded," he said.
Jones put up sandbags near his home and says he’s now more aware of the potential for flooding and has a plan for next time.
"Just making sure that if we have to leave, we have everything ready to go and make sure your friends and neighbors are all alert too when it rains," Jones said.
According to Mayor Randy Rowse, last year’s historic storm resulted in 400 calls for rescue, five of which required a helicopter hoist.
The flooding even extended to the Santa Barbara Airport where flights were grounded due to flooding on the runway.
"The Santa Barbara Airport lies in the footprint of the Goleta Slough and FEMA has designated the airport as a floodplain," said Mike Smith, Santa Barbara Airport Operations Manager.
During the January 2023 storm, water traveled down from the Santa Ynez mountains and right onto the runway.
"Unfortunately, our airfield was flooded and closed for approximately 27 hours," Smith said.
He adds that the airport is always working to mitigate flooding. In 2006, they relocated two creeks and they conduct vegetation control in nearby waterways every year.
"Staying on top of that, cleaning our storm drains and ensuring our system can handle the maximum capacity of any storm," Smith said.
And if flooding does occur…
"We ensure that airlines are aware of the storms coming so that we don’t have any stranded passengers here," Smith concluded.
Caltrans officials say that during storm events, their maintenance crews remain on call 24/7 and patrol the highways for any issues. In addition, the new Highway 101 HOV project from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara will include modern drainage facilities to prevent future roadway flooding.
