A new debris basin to protect the area of Montecito downstream from Randall Road got an influx of $13.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The announcement by Congressmember Salud Carbajal on Wednesday gives a green light to a project encouraged into reality by Curtis Skene , who grew up in the neighborhood and witnessed both the 1969 and 2018 debris flows.
The eight properties on Randall Road were wiped out in January 2018 along with about 85 others downstream after the San Ysidro Creek rose over its banks when a freak rainstorm broke over the hills that were left raw and exposed by the Thomas Fire. The early-morning cloudburst sent mud, boulders, and trees crashing through homes, and four people lost their lives in that part of Montecito. Altogether, 23 people died and about 400 structures were ruined.
As neighbors gathered together and sought solace from each other, Skene learned that most of the Randall Road residents did not want to return to the destroyed and sorrow-ridden block. Through a nonprofit he created called Partners in Community Renewal, or RenewSB, Skene started talking with the government agencies that would be involved in the massive undertaking to allow a big dig in the heart of rural Montecito, with The Upper Village to the west and the Valley Club to the east. He said he made the case to state agencies like Caltrans and California's Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), describing how the mud went into the 101 and almost closed the entire state.