Ahead of his sold-out benefit concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl tonight, singer/songwriter Jack Jackson on Saturday afternoon helped volunteers with the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade recovery group to dig mud from a Montecito home damaged by the deadly 1/9 Debris Flow. Johnson and his wife, Kim Johnson, also toured a portion of the disaster area, including the Oaks neighborhood, the intersection of Olive Mill and Hot Springs roads, and properties along San Ysidro Creek near East Valley Road.
“[The destruction] is overwhelming,” he told reporters and videographers. “It reminds you to have profound respect for nature. My heart goes out to all the families.”
The Johnsons live mostly in Hawai‘i, but they have a home in Santa Barbara, located near Montecito Creek. Fortunately, Johnson said, the property was in pretty good shape after the natural disaster, with minor mudflows in the yard closest to the creek. Sandbags kept the mud from entering the house, he added.
The Jack Johnson and Friends concert tonight — benefiting Thomas Fire and flood recovery efforts — features special sections for first responders and families that lost loved ones on January 9.