Storm Claims Stone Pine; Apartment Complex Evacuated
Multiple Road Closures Reported Throughout City
Friday’s storm continues to hammer Santa Barbara with rain and wind triggering mudslides and toppling trees all over town.
Shortly before 1 p.m., a large Italian Stone Pine Tree on Anapamu Street came crashing down on parked cars. No one was injured. City Fire spokesperson Gary Pitney said the historic tree was one the city had tried to keep alive during the drought. “It is going to be an extensive clean up,” he said.
Tenants in an apartment complex on Richland Drive in uptown Santa Barbara were evacuated after a retaining wall behind their building showed signs of buckling.
A number of road closures were announced throughout the city: San Roque Road at Jesusita Lane due to a boulder in the road; Mountain Drive between Tremonto and Foothill roads because of debris; and Cliff Drive between Las Positas Road and Mesa School Lane, we well as Las Positas between Cliff Drive and Portesuello Avenue, because of mud slides.
On the city’s Eastside, the 600 block of Quinientos Street and the 800 block of Olive Street have been closed because of flooding and a sink hole incident.
In the Goleta area, Fairview Avenue is closed in front of the airport. Hollister Ave is down to one lane at Fairview Avenue, and county officials reported a “high potential” for widespread flooding in the city’s old town. County emergency personnel issued an evacuation warning for Robin Hill Road and streets immediately surrounding the area. In addition, the corridor between Highway 217 and Los Carneros Road is currently shut down. Highway 154 remains closed between Highway 246 and Cathedral Oaks Road.
There are no shelters open at this time and no one has requested animal services care, county officials reported.
