Evacuation Orders Issued in Southern California

March 2, 2018
Evacuation orders are under effect in Southern California communities in burn zones from recent wildfires

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in the Southern California communities of Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria near the fire scars of the recent Thomas, Sherpa, and Whittier wildfires. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has predicted 2 to 3 in. of rain to fall through the weekend and a flash flood watch was issued March 1 at 9 p.m. PT.

While the weather service does not predict the rains to be as heavy as the January rain that caused dangerous mudslides, they advise that mudslides are possible at rain rates of half an inch per hour. According to CNN, the January 9 rains and subsequent mudslides resulted in the death of 21 people and two people were never found.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 people are affected by the mandatory evacuation notice and advises residents in impacted areas to heed the warnings. He also cautioned the unpredictable nature of the storm.

“This is a challenging storm. It’s traveling down the coast of California and it’s gone through Monterey and starting to hit San Luis Obispo. It’s impossible to figure out were it will hit and where it will be worst,” the Los Angeles Times reported Brown said.