Stormy weather across the Central Coast had government and law enforcement officials working overtime the weekend of March 20.
The Santa Barbara County Emergency Operations Center was busy monitoring flooding in Guadalupe and water flowing from Lake Cachuma into the Santa Ynez River.
As a precaution, Guadalupe city officials evacuated approximately two dozen residents living on Pioneer Street near the Santa Maria River. That neighborhood experienced extensive damage from similar flooding in December. Residents and city officials are still working with government agencies to repair the area.
The Northern Santa Barbara County Chapter of the Red Cross briefly set up a shelter at Guadalupe City Hall. The county also asked the Red Cross to be on alert should it become necessary to evacuate areas between the Santa Ynez River and the city of Lompoc. Luckily, that plan was never carried out.
On March 21 at 11:50 a.m., the Santa Barbara County Fire and Sheriff’s departments worked in tandem to rescue 18 people camping in Los Padres National Forest near New Cuyama.
A total of four helicopter rescues were needed to evacuate the 12 children and six adults, all members of Boy Scouts troops from Lompoc and Camarillo.
According to a press release from the fire department, the rescue effort was hampered by strong winds and snow, which limited the number of people each helicopter could carry.
The scouts were transported to the Santa Ynez Airport and checked for hypothermia by firefighters.
“There were no injuries reported other than being cold, tired, and hungry,” fire officials said in the release.
The scouts were reunited with their families at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall.
County and city officials did not return calls as of press time.
The National Weather Service predicts more rain through March 25.
This article appears in Mar 24-31, 2011.
