Santa Barbara residents ordered to shelter-in-place due to 'life-threatening' weather

Residents in Santa Barbara were told to shelter-in-place due to potential ‘life-threatening flooding’ after heavy rains battered areas already ravaged by wildfires.

Alisal Fire broke out in the California county on October 11 and tore through 17,000 acres of land before it was almost completely extinguished, at 97 per cent contained, on Sunday.

The burn scar is more susceptible to flash floods and mudslides after heavy rain and as storms hit the West Coast on the weekend, residents were ordered to evacuate.

By 11.30am Monday, the evacuation order was changed to a shelter-in-place, warning of ‘life-threatening flooding and debris’.

Residents were instructed to stay inside and ‘go to the innermost room in their home or to higher ground such as a second floor.’ 

Residents in Santa Barbara were issued a shelter-in-place warning due to potential 'life-threatening flooding and debris' in the burn areas from the Alisal Fire on Monday morning (Pictured: Cleanup crews and local residents help remove a fallen tree on a roadway on Monday, October 25 in the aftermath of a large storm that hit the Bay Area over the weekend)

Residents in Santa Barbara were issued a shelter-in-place warning due to potential ‘life-threatening flooding and debris’ in the burn areas from the Alisal Fire on Monday morning (Pictured: Cleanup crews and local residents help remove a fallen tree on a roadway on Monday, October 25 in the aftermath of a large storm that hit the Bay Area over the weekend)

California has been hit with back-to-back bomb cyclones drenching most of the West coast in torrential rains beginning late last week and forecasted to last through this week (Pictured:  Fog and rain make driving the Interstate 5 freeway in the San Fernando Valley treacherous on Monday, October 25)

California has been hit with back-to-back bomb cyclones drenching most of the West coast in torrential rains beginning late last week and forecasted to last through this week (Pictured:  Fog and rain make driving the Interstate 5 freeway in the San Fernando Valley treacherous on Monday, October 25)

The area is highly susceptible to flooding after wildfires broke out in the area blocking the ground from absorbing water (Pictured: A vehicle negotiates standing water along Riverside drive in Toluca Lake, California on Monday, October 25)

The area is highly susceptible to flooding after wildfires broke out in the area blocking the ground from absorbing water (Pictured: A vehicle negotiates standing water along Riverside drive in Toluca Lake, California on Monday, October 25)

Nearly 300 residences in Refugio Canyon and other parts of the Gaviota coast were impacted by the evacuation warning  (Pictured: Vehicles make their way through a flooded area of High Street near Interstate 880 as rain falls in Oakland on Sunday, October 24)

Nearly 300 residences in Refugio Canyon and other parts of the Gaviota coast were impacted by the evacuation warning  (Pictured: Vehicles make their way through a flooded area of High Street near Interstate 880 as rain falls in Oakland on Sunday, October 24)

The Pacific Northwest and Central California were just hit by its first storm on Thursday and Friday and the second on Saturday night (Pictured: Workers try to divert water into drains as rain pours down on Tuesday, October 24)

The Pacific Northwest and Central California were just hit by its first storm on Thursday and Friday and the second on Saturday night (Pictured: Workers try to divert water into drains as rain pours down on Tuesday, October 24)

The shelter-in-place order has since been dropped. 

Burn scars block the ground from absorbing water leading to an increased potential for flooding. As the water levels rise, it can create erosion and collect large amounts of ash, sand, silt, rocks, and burned vegetation. 

The strength of the rushing waters along with the debris that it picks up can cause major destruction to the landscape and the infrastructure. 

Parts of the Alisal Fire burn area were issued to evacuate the area by noon on Sunday. The Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue Team spent Sunday afternoon going door to door personally urging residents to leave. 

Nearly 300 residences in Refugio Canyon and other parts of the Gaviota coast impacted by the wildfire were impacted by the evacuation order.  

Santa Barbara City Fire Department inspected the area on Monday checking for signs of post-fire flooding issues but Battalion Chief Jim McCoy told NoozHawk that no damage was reported.

Firefighters did find one man who needed to be rescued from the flood waters in Mission Creek. 

The unidentified man was underneath the roadway when the water rose and trapped him, he told firefighters. He was forced to cling onto vines and roots until he could be saved. 

‘He was holding onto that vine cluster for an hour is what he said, yelling for help and finally somebody heard him,’ McCoy said. 

The man was rescued when firefighters used a rope system to get him a flotation device.  

Parts of Santa Barbra County was ordered to evacuate the area by Sunday at noon

Parts of Santa Barbra County was ordered to evacuate the area by Sunday at noon 

Both the evacuation and shelter-in-place warnings expired on Monday afternoon (Pictured: Rain falls in Refugio Canyon Monday morning as runoff begins to fill the creek on Monday, October 25)

Both the evacuation and shelter-in-place warnings expired on Monday afternoon (Pictured: Rain falls in Refugio Canyon Monday morning as runoff begins to fill the creek on Monday, October 25)

The area was a high-risk location for flooding due to the burn scars from the Alisal Fire that ravaged through area for the past few weeks (Pictured: A road closed sign at Refugio Road near the 101 where much of the Alisal Fire raged on Monday, October 25)

The area was a high-risk location for flooding due to the burn scars from the Alisal Fire that ravaged through area for the past few weeks (Pictured: A road closed sign at Refugio Road near the 101 where much of the Alisal Fire raged on Monday, October 25)

‘He said he wasn’t hurt but he was very cold and very tired,’ McCoy explained. 

The heavy rainfall came as back-to-back bomb cyclones were forecasted to create atmospheric rivers. Atmospheric rivers are long narrow regions of moisture in the atmosphere ‘like rivers in the sky’ that release rain or snow to the earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A storm is considered a bomb cyclone when its minimum air pressure drops 24 millibars or more within 24 hours; this next storm could decrease by 50 millibars potentially becoming a ‘double bomb.’

The Pacific Northwest and Central California were just hit by the first atmospheric river Thursday and Friday. 

The Central California area has been ravaged by extreme weather in recent years. The Alisal Fire broke out in the area on October 11 and was 97% contained as of Sunday night.  

Fire crews scrambled to save Ronald Reagan’s ranch retreat and Brad Pitt’s $5.5million California beach house when the fires first spread. 

The Alisal Fire charred more than 15,360 acres (24 square miles) of dense chaparral in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara. 

While the scenic region along the Pacific shoreline is lightly populated, the blaze was a threat to more than 100 homes, ranches and other buildings, fire officials said. 

The area hadn’t burned since 1955, according to the conservative youth organization.

California wildfires have scorched nearly 3,900 square miles (10,101 square kilometers) this year and destroyed more than 3,600 homes, businesses and other structures, according to the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

A historic drought in the West tied to climate change is making wildfires harder to fight. It has killed millions of trees in California alone. Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

source: dailymail.co.uk