By Michelle Carlen, Alignment Advising
California held a drought for almost a decade leading up to one of the largest wildfires in the state, starting on December 4th, 2017. The Thomas Fire began in the rural mountainous area of Ventura County and ultimately burned nearly 281,000 acres. At the time, I was working with a local tourism organization in the Santa Barbara region. Hot December temperatures, dangerous winds, and extreme dry conditions fueled relentless flames. So much so, that just days into the fire, it jumped the county line, spreading into Santa Barbara County. This region had seen fires before, but none quite like this. The flames raged for over a month. The city of Santa Barbara hosted evacuees from Ventura County where the fire began and soon became home to its own resident evacuees, filling local hotels and displacing tourists. For those not located in evacuation zones, unhealthy air quality prompted others to flee to neighboring counties to the north. By the time Christmas came, the fire was still uncontained. Finally, in the first week of January, the fire was completely quenched. Many who had evacuated several times throughout the fire were now back in their homes. A more credible sense of normal emerged and the communities at large felt this terrible nightmare was finally over after loss of building structures and a few lives.
On January 9, 2018, a precipitous storm came and changed the course of events in ways that no one could have anticipated. Due to the impending rains, a voluntary evacuation notice was declared by authorities for those residing near the Thomas Fire burn areas. Some evacuated, but some stayed. A few miles south of downtown Santa Barbara, and home to rich and famous including Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, Montecito residents that disregarded notice awoke at 2:00 AM to traumatic events. A torrential downpour piled inches of rain in just under 15 minutes. This, paired with the previous dry drought conditions, caused ash, remaining Thomas Fire debris, boulders, and rocks, to tumble down the mountains and down through creek beds and ravines. Devastating mudflows, in some cases 10-12 ft high, tore toward the ocean, sweeping away and damaging structures along its path. Several miles of the 101 freeway (the main interstate) completely flooded at various points, impeding traffic in both directions. Unfortunately, the tragic outcome was the loss of innocent lives.
I came to work that morning and learned from the Internet and my colleagues about these events. Disbelief and deep sadness took over as I heard helicopter after helicopter fly over, rescuing dozens of people who were trapped. During the Thomas Fire, our office had followed an already existing crisis plan, enacting phone trees, changing communications to locals and visitors, working with local authorities to ensure the accuracy of our information, and pausing our regular advertising messages. As the first few days after the mudflow carried on, the media quickly launched mass global coverage of the devastation.
For weeks, the 101 freeway, the only access point between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, and the Amtrak railway through a small section of south Santa Barbara County, were closed. The logistical nightmare that played out for companies supplying goods to various areas in California was treacherous. Caltrans relayed an alternate route which added hours extra to trips, causing severe general disruption of business.
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