Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.
The extreme winter storm that hit locally on January 9, 2023 was a federally declared disaster. While significant impacts made headlines around Santa Barbara County and the State, heavy rains caused devastation in remote areas that went largely unseen. Few were aware that debris flows in the backcountry severed the water pipeline from Jameson Lake.
Record-setting precipitation rerouted a creek, eroded large swaths of earth, and exposed the main pipeline which was then hit by debris and rocks, rupturing the pipe in several areas. Simultaneously, mudslides covered roads and plugged culverts, making access extremely difficult.