March 2023 Winter Storm – Tuesday, March 14 Afternoon Update

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An Evacuation Order is in effect for Thomas, Alisal, and Cave Fire burn scar areas. Use the interactive incident map to determine if your residence falls under the Evacuation Order boundaries. Santa Barbara County 2023 March Winter Storm Incident Map (arcgis.com).

Residents not under the Evacuation Order are encouraged to stay sheltered at home, avoid driving or walking through flooded roadways, and stay away from creeks.

Roads leading in and out of the Sisquoc and Tepusquet areas could be damaged by this storm. Residents of those areas should either leave or prepare to sustain themselves in case roads become impassable.

Evacuation Shelter:

The Wake Center on 300 N. Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara is open as an evacuation shelter for persons displaced by evacuation orders. For north county support, call the American Red Cross at (805) 678-3073.

Low-Lying and Flood-Prone Areas:

The City’s Public Works Department continues to monitor the following flood-prone areas. Currently, these streets remain open:

Cliff Drive at Yankee Farm
Old Coast Highway
South Calle Cesar Chavez
Anacapa St.
Castillo St. and the 101
Gibraltar Rd.
West Mountain Drive
Tremonto Rd. and Mountain Drive
Roble Lane
3700 block of Modoc
3600 block of Calle Real

Public Works has closed the following streets as a precaution, due to past flooding:

Por La Mar Drive
100 block of Anacapa St.
0 block of South Calle Cesar Chavez

The Public Works Department is closely monitoring the storm, City streets and ensuring creeks are clear of debris.

Please contact the Public Works Streets division for clogged/blocked storm drains or streets related emergencies at (805) 564-5454.

The Sandbag Station will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 at 401 E. Yanonali Street. Please click the following link for sandbag information: Sandbag Information | City of Santa Barbara (santabarbaraca.gov)

Free Storm Parking:

If community members cannot avoid the roadways and need a safe place to park, the City is allowing free emergency parking on the roof top of the Ortega Parking Garage / Lot 10 (Ortega Street and Anacapa Street) for members of the public who need safe parking (out of flood zone) throughout this emergency storm event. This Free Emergency Parking Program is valid only from Tuesday, March 14 at 9 a.m. through Wednesday, March 15, at 5 p.m.

More details:

Members of the public must park the car and leave the parking garage- no camping allowed.
The public must register with the Ambassador Team at the registration table on the ground floor to document the following: name, address, license plate number, make, model and color of vehicle, phone number and email.
Ambassador team will provide an event ticket to be placed in vehicle for validation.
Ambassadors will also provide a flyer with pertinent information regarding parking.

NEW: In addition to the Lot 10 parking, The City has coordinated with SB Unified Schools to provide an option for our Eastside residents. Free storm parking is available at the Armory, located at 700 E Canon Perdido St. Community members can enter through the gate on Quarantina St. Those parking a vehicle do not need to move their cars until noon, Wednesday, March 15. No camping allowed, this lot is for storm parking only.

Important driving tips:

Do not drive through standing water or a road closure.
Do not attempt to drive while it is dark or raining as roads may be damaged and your car maybe swept away by moving water or debris.

Resources and Information:

For school closures, please visit the Santa Barbara County Education Office storm update page.
For animal evacuation assistance and information, call Santa Barbara County Animal Services at (805) 681-4332.
For status of highways, visit Caltrans: https://roads.dot.ca.gov/roadscell.php
For status of county roadways, visit County Public Works: https://www.countyofsb.org/2116/Road-Closures