After residents hunker down, heavy rain rocks Montecito

MONTECITO, Calif. - Thursday's slow-moving storm finally surged through the Montecito area, ushering in an impressive downpour in the late afternoon hours.

Immediately after, Montecito's creeks and debris basins appeared to be handling the heavy rain.

The excess water did cause issues on the roads, flooding residential streets as well as the right lane of the northbound 101 Freeway near the Hermosillo Road exit, causing traffic backups.

Those in Montecito had a quiet morning and early afternoon to prepare for the storm. Just hours before the heaviest rain, people filled up sandbags in the parking lot of lower Manning Park.

“There’s a heightened awareness for people that live in this area, that they need to do something, be very proactive [before heavy rainstorms],” said Doug Norton, who has been a Santa Barbara County Park Ranger for more than 40 years.

Norton was one of three county park rangers out patrolling Montecito during Thursday's storm, checking roads and creeks for fallen trees and other large debris that could accelerate flooding.

“A downed tree could catch other debris and then you’ll—even with a minimum amount of water—you can still have an overflow situation,” said Norton, who calls the park rangers the "first line of defense" for reporting debris issues and blockages during a storm to the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department.

CalTrans trucks were also seen driving around Montecito amid the downpours, checking for creek issues.