Crews and contractors with Santa Barbara County are busy this afternoon clearing out Montecito’s debris basins after this morning’s heavy downpour.
“This debris basin [in Romero Canyon] worked perfect,” said Rick Tomasini, a maintenance superintendent with county Flood Control. “There was nothing in here yesterday,” he added, pointing across the basin, now piled approximately 20 to 30 feet deep in rocks ranging in size from softballs to small automobiles. “It worked like it was supposed to.”
Tomasini said he was standing above the banks of the debris basin just after 9 a.m. today when a massive surge of floodwaters drained from Romero Canyon carrying trees and rock. The flood had been triggered roughly 15 minutes prior when an intense storm cell passed over the region.