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Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams — Red Flag Warning and Excessive Heat Alert

by Community Contributor • July 5, 2024 • Comments Off

Red Flag Warning and Excessive Heat Alert

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning from 6 PM Thursday to 6 AM Saturday for most mountains and Southwest Santa Barbara County, and Excessive Heat Warnings through 6 PM Wednesday (July 10) for Mountains and Interior, and through 6 PM Monday for Coastal Valleys.

Extreme temperatures and low humidity will create critical fire weather conditions and pose a health risk. Residents are urged to take precautions to protect themselves and their property and avoid heat-related illnesses, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Remember to drink water, limit time outside, find a cool place to stay indoors, and check in on your neighbors.

Community Cooling Relief

In addition to community-based cooling options such as malls, movie theaters, parks, and beaches, the following locations are available to the public to seek relief from the excessive heat.

Carpinteria City Hall

Address: 5775 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria CA 93013

Carpinteria Community Library

Address: 5141 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria CA 93013

Santa Barbara Central Library

Address: 40 E. Anapamu St, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101

Goleta Valley Public Library

Address: 500 North Fairview Avenue, Goleta, CA, 93117

Cuyama Valley Family Resource Center

Address: 4689 Highway 166, New Cuyama, CA, 93254

Joseph Centeno Aquatics Center (Cuyama)

Address: 290 Wasioja Street, New Cuyama, CA, 93254

Solvang Library

Address: 1745 Mission Drive, Solvang, CA, 93463

Buellton Library

Address: 140 West Highway 246, Buellton, CA, 93427

Santa Ynez Library

Address: 3598 Sagunto Street, Santa Ynez, CA, 93460

Santa Ynez Valley Grange

Address: 2374 Alamo Pintado Avenue, Los Olivos, CA 93441

Los Olivos Library

Address: 2374 Alamo Pintado Avenue, Los Olivos, CA, 93441

Hours and More Information

Supporting Cuyama

Recently I had the chance to join our State Senator Monique Limon, State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, and State Senator Melissa Hurtado at a visit to Cuyama to discuss the groundwater crisis residents are facing. Cuyama is one of the most severely overdrafted basins in the state – largely because of two companies, not based in Cuyama, who have grown carrots and other products there for years with no regard to the overall water table. In all my time as a representative, I have never seen a community that fits the definition of having been colonized as well as Cuyama. Those with the money and power over this community are not the people who live here. The community has organized and banded together to ask everyone to Stand with Cuyama and boycott products made by Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms. I believe strongly in voting with your dollar and only supporting companies that support my values, to the extent possible. Please watch the following video to hear directly from Cuyama residents on why they are doing this and please Stand with Cuyama.

Renters’ Guide to Creating an Energy Efficient Home

Calling all renters interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions! Renters have more control over their energy use than you might think.

Join 3C-REN to discuss actions you can take to reduce energy use while saving money and creating a clean and comfortable home.

Attendees will learn about:

Renter-friendly actions to reduce home energy use
Ways to reduce natural gas in the home
Using the DIY Energy Savings Toolkits from 3C-REN
Borrowing a portable induction cooktop from your local library
More climate-friendly tips from Resilient Central Coast

Don’t miss out—register now!

Renters’ Guide to Creating an Energy-Efficient Home

Tuesday, July 16, 12:00–1:00 p.m. on Zoom

Learn More

Flood Map Open House

Santa Barbara County Flood Control is hosting a public open house to discuss local flood risks and the newly revised Federal Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) issued by FEMA. I invite you to join me on Tuesday, July 9 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm for a discussion with experts, as well as representatives from Federal and local agencies.

Mitigating the risk of flooding continues to be a top priority for the County. Of course, we all remember the devastation of the 1/9 Debris Flow, and in subsequent storms, neighborhoods in Santa Barbara and Montecito have experienced flooding that has damaged properties and put lives at risk. That’s why it’s critical that we continue our momentum to improve the flood control system. In just the last 2 years, we have opened the Randall Road Debris Basin, made capacity improvements to the Cold Springs Debris, and launched the Flood Mitigation Master Planning process to set priorities for channel improvements.

Learn More

101 Divided Lane To Begin

Montecito

The southbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Rd will reopen July 8 (to allow concrete to meet strength requirements) and the southbound on-ramp at Posilipo Ln is closed through spring 2026.
The divided northbound lanes between Hixon and Olive Mill Roads (shown in the graphic above) will start July 13 along with the closure of the northbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Rd. During the lane shifts, please expect both the northbound off-ramps at San Ysidro and Olive Mill Rds to be closed as crews move concrete safety barriers. Once the lanes are shifted, the northbound off-ramp at Olive Mill Rd will reopen.

Summerland

Planting continues along the southbound lanes by the southbound off-ramp at Evans Ave and Greenwell Creek. Irrigation work continues on the northbound side.

Padaro segment

Crews will continue working on new median safety barriers and drainage improvements. Crews will remove concrete barriers by the southbound on-ramp at Santa Claus Ln (see night closures below).

More Information

Affordable Homeownership Opportunity

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, one of our local housing nonprofits, has begun the process of selecting two families for new affordable homes on East Coast Street in Santa Barbara.

Applications will be accepted July 8-19. Two homes on E. Cota St. will be available for purchase. All applicants must attend a mandatory orientation. Please click below to respond. For more information about the planned development and eligibility, please click here.