Working remotely offered safe option during Santa Barbara County downpour

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - By the time shelter-in-place and evacuation orders lifted on Monday afternoon, the rain gave way to sunshine.

Some people headed to the shore after work and noticed beach flooding. Blue skies made it easy to forget the stormy weather that made many people skip their morning work or school commutes.

The Office of Emergency Management sent out alerts. Emergency officials want people to know the conditions before they go in order to play it safe on local roads.

They encourage resident to sign up for alerts at readysbc.org and to follow the OEM on social media.

Many people said seeing alerts informed their choice to stay home.

@countyofsb tweeted, "Morning commute in the middle. Know before go! Check weather and road conditions. Work remotely if possible."

Other people who have been working from home during the pandemic appreciated the sense of safety.

"I think I started getting Santa Barbara County alerts on my phone one or two days ago warning about debris flows and it is alarming every time you get it, but luckily we are all pretty far east of it so it is nice to know you can work at home and not get stuck in it," said Keighley Lane.

Lane said a lot of her friends worked from home due to the storm.

Some Santa Barbara County City college students, who study at Starbucks on the Mesa, said their professors gave them the online option during the downpour.

A Santa Barbara resident who used to live in West Virginia said she knows Californians are often more cautious than others when it comes to wet weather.

She chose to work from home, too.

When it comes to communities that have seen what slides can do workers and students prefer to play it safe
after fire and rain.

Some workers said the ability to work remotely from home or elsewhere has been an upside of the pandemic.