California Could Face Costly El Niño Impacts, With No Quick Help Flooding In

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County has been a target of costly weather damages from the intense rain storms in recent years to wildland fires – but this year, getting federal help afterwards is going to be harder.

At a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Public Works Director Chris Sneddon said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is still lagging behind on payments for storm damage financial help from the 2023-2024 storms.

The costs totaled $60 million. The reimbursement has been about $4 million. That is just the beginning of the financial issues that will arise if another damaging rain or fire season hits the area.

It is not just Santa Barbara County. Supervisor Joan Hartmann made comments indicating that, because California is a "blue" state, the likelihood of a fast response from FEMA is getting less probable.

She recalls having to go back to Washington D.C. in 2018 to meet directly with legislators to get action that she couldn't get on the phone or through email letters.

The warming of the Pacific Ocean continues to make tropical rain systems very possible, and intense or damaging rain could be part of that.

(More photos, videos and details will be added here later today.)

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