Many residents are feeling anxiety before another potentially damaging storm

Many residents are facing some anxiety again as a major storm bears down on a battered area of Montecito and the South Coast fire zones, that have hillsides with little or no ground cover.

If you look at the creeks and channels, the over 8000 truckloads of debris and rock removal creates a safety net depending on the length and intensity of the upcoming downpours.

“I am absolutely confident that we can handle four inches, and I am not concerned. I am ready,” said resident Homer Sheffield who lives in an evacuation zone. “I’m packed to go but with this one I will probably read it a little.”

Many residents have piled walls of sandbags to deflect the runoff water if it comes out of nearby canyons with force. Thousands of the bags are stacked up in the immediate foothills.

Resident Molly Rosecrance says her trunk is ready with emergency rations and clothing. “Basic things that I know that’s in there I leave it. I’m tired of moving it. So if there is anything that comes down of any consequence, I might be out of my house for two weeks. I have groceries in the car to take to a friends house and clothes,” she said.

Along East Valley Road, the San Ysidro creek, the scene of a deadly and destructive down flow in January, is still an active emergency scene. Heavy equipment is working in several locations to open the creeks, move debris and take down broken houses.

Work is underway to also replace utilities.

Rocks are still staggered in all directions including straight up the drainages.

“Any kind of seismic activity even when we have little 4.0 and 3.5 it does a little shimmy to those guys they are round and they roll so you just have to be careful of them,” said Kinka Usher a resident. “I don’t see a La Conchita situation where it comes swoosh down like that. It will come through the channels and we just have to be careful.”

He has hiked around here in the last few weeks and says besides rain, wind could move the boulders too.