In the midst of all the tragedy, stories of miracles emerged through the deluge. The Santa Barbara Independent is gathering personal accounts from people affected by the storm. If you have a story to share, please call (805) 965-5205 or email news@independent.com.
Alicia Lahti was on the second floor of her condo near the intersection of Olive Mill Road and Coast Village Drive when the heavy rain and wind woke her up. Her two mid-sized goldendoodles, Belle and Amore, started barking frantically. “They knew something was wrong,” Lahti remembered. “I got up and looked down the stairs and the furniture was moving around and I could hear the mud coming inside.” She called 9-1-1, but soon, “I realized I was on my own,” she said
She got dressed, pulled on her boots, and put her phone, driver's license, and a credit card inside a waterproof bag, and walked downstairs. The mud was up to her waist, and her leashed dogs started swimming. They trudged to the front door, half smashed in by a large tree branch. She wrenched it open, waded through the mud-filled courtyard and a gate to the street, where she found a small patch of high ground surrounded by boulders and tree trunks. She started waving her phone light and screaming for help in the pouring rain. “The eeriest thing was the mud creeping down Olive Mill,” she remembered.