As another wet winter has arrived in Santa Maria, we caught up with community members who were out in the elements on Thursday.
“I am usually just being more safe while driving, usually lowering my speed by going about 10 miles below the limit, it is just a safe precaution,” said Mateo Ferreira, who lives in Santa Maria.
Ferreira says he has lived in town all his life, adding that last winter’s storms were the heaviest he had ever seen.
“These past two years have been very extreme, including our yard that got flooded last year,” he told KSBY. “We had to completely dig it out. We remodeled it throughout the year, but it was really extreme.”
As the rain puddled up in Santa Maria Thursday, we spoke with other locals like Ken Hahn, who also got behind the wheel despite the storm.
“I love to drive in it. It is exciting, it is fun. It is kind of like the olden days,” he said.
According to officials with the County of Santa Barbara’s Public Works Department, portions of Black Road from Mahoney to Betteravia saw brief closures due to flooding Wednesday night, but reopened early Thursday morning.
Longtime Santa Maria resident Xavier Acosta says when it rains, he too takes extra precautions on the road.
“It is good to see all this rain we are getting, but we don’t need it all at once. I see some of these roads are a little flooded, but that is normal,” Acosta said.
Nipomo resident Pam Nutter adds that during the rainy season, she leaves the house only when she needs to.
“We listen to the news, and we try to avoid Oceano, Highway 1 and places that flood,” she told KSBY. “So we are pretty good.”
Meanwhile, after having his family’s yard flooded during last winter’s storms, Mateo Ferreira says this year, he is well prepared.
“We revamped our yard and now we have vents everywhere that help push the water out toward the street. We have been preparing by adding sandbags in front of our front door so we have no water entering our yard or house,” Ferreira said.
Warming Centers will be open throughout Santa Barbara County Thursday evening, with overnight dry shelter locations available in Santa Maria, as well as in Lompoc and the South Coast.
