Tens of thousands of people left their homes in Santa Barbara County Thursday as a result of mandatory evacuations prompted by the winter storm moving into the region.
The storm is expected to peak in Santa Barbara County early Friday morning, and in Ventura County closer to daybreak. An inch of rain is possible along the coast, with up to three inches in the mountains.
Forecasters say they don’t think the potential is as strong with this storm as it was for the deadly January 9th event for heavy, concentrated rainfall which caused flooding, and debris flows in Southern Santa Barbara County. 23 people died in Montecito during that storm. Still, public safety officials didn't want to take chances, and ordered the evacuations.
Most people in Montecito took the orders to heart, with the community looking like a cgoast town by the 6 p.m. evacuation deadline.
The evacuation orders include the Thomas, Whittier, and Sherpa brush fire burn zones in the county.
Meanwhile, Ventura County officials are monitoring the storm situation closely, but say at this point there is nothing to warrant any type of evacuation notices in the county.