Cleanup operation underway in Orcutt neighborhood damaged by massive flood, sinkhole
ORCUTT, Calif. -- An extensive cleanup operation began in an Orcutt neighborhood Tuesday morning just hours after it was badly damaged by a massive flood caused when water came pouring into the street through a sinkhole on Union Valley Parkway Monday night.
"The rain came hard all day long and all of a sudden I came home from work about 5 o'clock and my wife was calling me and told me I needed to get home,” said Mike Zimmer, who lives on Hibiscus Court. “When I looked down the street there was just a river of water coming down the street."
Once the sinkhole gave way, water came gushing down onto Hibiscus Court, first moving across Union Valley Parkway after a nearby retention area overflowed.
As the night went on, the water rose on Hibiscus Court, rushing into some of the homes along Parkland Drive, which intersects with the small cul-de-sac.
"Didn't know when it was going to stop,” said Zimmer. “It just completely filled up and you can see side to side and the water line up on the houses."
As the water rose during the night, an evacuation order was issued for many of the residents in the flooded area.
"It was quite scary when it first went down,” said Jamie Duft, a Hibiscus Court resident that was evacuated. “We evacuated about 20 minutes after the firemen came and at point it was a big rushing river and when you hear get out, you just think of your kids and want safety, so we just packed up and ran."
Neighbors said water collected against a wall that borders St. Joseph High School. After the wall was knocked down, the water released onto the campus, providing an outlet for the flood waters to drain.
"It's a little shocking,” said Tom Castillo, a resident who lives near the flooded areas. “Never do you think something like this is going to happen, especially in your neighborhood. You usually see it on the news, right?"
As the run rose on Tuesday morning, residents were greeted with sunshine and dry conditions.
"Grateful for the sunshine today,” said Duft. “Grateful, very grateful for the sunshine. Wish it would stay a little longer."
While the residents were grateful for the dry weather, it was only until the daylight hours when they saw just how much damage the flooding brought.
"This morning I was surprised to see the amount of debris and dirt out here because last night this was completely under water and we couldn't see this amount of debris,” said Zimmer. “At the time, we thought it was all water, but really there was probably only a few inches of water and it was all the debris that moved down through the street."
With ideal weather, a clean-up operation quickly started Tuesday morning. Santa Barbara County work crews and other workers began the long task of cleaning up the area.
Tractors scraped up loads of dirt, mud and debris throughout the day until the evening hours. Neighbors and friends helped move out residents of homes that were destroyed by the flooding.
At least two of the homes were reported to be unlivable due to extensive damage.
Parkland Drive was closed to traffic all day Tuesday, but reopened late in the afternoon.
Meantime, Union Valley Parkway will remain closed from the busy intersection of S. Bradley Road and Morning Ridge Road for at least the next several days while the county repairs the sinkhole.
Neighbors said they are especially grateful there were no injuries caused during Monday's flooding.
"Everybody is okay,” said Duft. “But the house is heartbreaking. Your whole life is gone in a matter of instants from water. To see the amount of devastation that water can do, my heart hurts for them."
