On the night before Christmas Eve, heavy rains pelted Santa Barbara County, with rain meters from Santa Maria to Carpinteria reporting between 2–5 inches of rain overnight. Early morning risers were greeted by windswept showers spraying the sides of windows and houses, and by 6 a.m. a Flash Flood Warning was issued for the entire Southern Santa Barbara County, effective all through Christmas Eve, from 9 a.m. to midnight,
When the storm first hit on December 23, the National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for parts of Santa Barbara County, warning county residents to be cautious of violent, sudden, flooding in the areas of Isla Vista, Goleta, Mission, Canyon, and the Highway 154 corridor near San Marcos Pass. As of the morning of December 24, this Flash Flood Warning now includes all of Southern Santa Barbara County, with county officials asking drivers and residents to avoid areas that have been previously burned in wildfires, as well as other vulnerable areas such as rivers and low-lying roads.
“If you are in one of these areas, go to the innermost room of your home or to higher ground, such as a second floor,” stated the warning issued by the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
Along with the Flash Flood Warning, an evacuation warning remains in place for areas within the Lake Fire burn scar. This includes the areas surrounding Midland School, Zaca Lake Resort, and residences located near the 7000 and 9000 block of Figueroa Mountain Road…