FEMA approves funding for Randall Road Debris Basin
MONTECITO, Calif. - Funding for the critical Randall Road Debris Basin project in Montecito was finalized this week with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
FEMA's announcement was made public by Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office. Carbajal played a key role working with other local leaders to help secure the federal funds.
The $13.5 million FEMA grant, which amounts to 75% of the project’s $18 million dollar cost, was awarded to the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District. The money will be used for construction and to purchase eight properties lining Randall Road, which was obliterated during the massive mud and debris flow of January 2018.
“It has taken years for our community to rebuild and recover from the Montecito Debris Flow. We can, and should, honor the memories of those we lost that horrible day by doing everything possible to prevent future disasters,” said Carbajal. “Wildfires and floods, fueled by climate change, are only getting worse over time and we must adapt our infrastructure to reflect our reality. The new debris basin will go a long way toward that goal and I’m proud of the collaborative work we’ve done across local, state, and federal governments to secure the funding necessary to turn this project into a reality.”
Earlier this year, in January of 2020, a NewsChannel crew met up at the site with Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams and, Tom Fayram, Water Resources Deputy Director of Santa Barbara County. Fayram once described the San Ysidro Debris Basin high above San Ysidro Creek along Randall Road as "a thimble" 2018 disaster.
"A lot of rock went over the road and that's what we want to stop," said Fayram.
115 homes below Randall Rd. were taken out the morning of the deadly flow. Local leaders confirm that history repeated itself in this area, on a much more massive and deadly level than the flow of 1969.
It took a small army of local leaders who followed the tenacious lead of Curtis Skene, a longtime Montecito resident who lost his home in the flow off East Valley Road, to bring the proposed project to fruition.
