Visitors “soak up” scenic views as Lake Cachuma fills to capacity for first time in over a decade

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.— The recent storm has caused Lake Cachuma to fill up for the first time in years.

Visitors braved the cold and rain to catch a glimpse of the snow and the scenic view of Lake Cachuma.

The inflow to the lake required Bradbury Dam to release 25k cubic feet per second of water.

“We're out here to see the water flowing out of the dam today,” said Mariah Higbee, who brought her 3 little ones along for the adventure.

The operator of the dam said the rain over the last couple days has been great for the region and water conservation remains a way of life in Santa Barbara County.

“Last year here, the water was down. You can see the ground and grass is growing and now it's full. And we've been watching it. And last few weeks you could see it was just like feet from the top and spilling over. And now we're here to see it heading down river,” said Higbee.

John Terry has lived in Santa Barbara County for years, but says this is the first time he’s seen the lake full in over a decade.

“They let the water go downstream, of course, and refill the groundwater basins down south, which is great. I mean, it's nice that we're able to do that this year and, and still have plenty reserved for the rest of us,” said Santa Barbara native John Terry.

As the Bradbury Dam releases water and raises water levels downstream, the Santa Ynez river is expected to peak at 18.6 feet.

Visitors to the area hope that residents will heed all flood warnings and stay safe.

“ I live next to Lake Orville and this happened there about five years ago where they had so much water coming in, they couldn't let it out quick enough. And it ended up going over the emergency spillway,” said Gregg Fritsch who passed through the area on his detour back to Chico.

The Bureau of Reclamation is continuously monitoring the conditions of Lake Cachuma and adjusting spillway releases from Bradbury Dam accordingly.