Rain showers and rollovers part of the Central Coast wake up call

August 10, 2023 11:42 am

Published August 10, 2023 11:17 am

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A steady flow of moisture has created a wet August day in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

The rain began falling in the early morning hours.

It came together as Tropical Storm Eugene started breaking up from Mexico's waters and moving along the Southern California coast. Forecasters saw this possibility last weekend, and it arrived as predicted.

Many drivers were caught off guard.

At about 6 a.m. there was a three vehicle crash northbound on Highway 101 at Carrillo in Santa Barbara. It was non-injury but the morning commute was backed up.

While emergency crews were on that call, another rollover took place northbound between Olive Mill and Cabrillo Blvd. Fire crews assisting in the area from Carpinteria joined AMR and the CHP. The driver was able to climb out and he was taken to Cottage Hospital for an evaluation.

While the crash scene was unfolding, two other vehicles hit during a traffic squeeze at the scene.

There was also a crash on Highway 154 at San Antonio Creek Road that briefly blocked lanes on the busy San Marcos Pass.

Around the area, some crews doing roofing projects were unprepared. That included a team in the 18-block of Chapala St. that rushed to get tarps over a building that had leaks.

Some urban street water runoff created pooling in areas that included the Olive Mill Rd. construction site at the roundabout. There was also a solid flow of water down State Street at Ortega and Cota Streets.

Parklets in the downtown area have been designed to allow water to flow underneath. No problems were reported.

Storm drain runoff in Montecito sent water and street litter out to the beach and ocean at several locations.