Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management issued a countywide flood watch effective March 14-15 and an evacuation order for properties and areas in south Santa Barbara County associated with the Alisal, Cave and Thomas Fires.  The evacuation order was lifted 5:30 p.m. March 14. 

The flood watch began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 14 and ends at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15, according to a press release from Santa Barbara County.

The evacuation warning was issued at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 13, and was upgraded to an evacuation order at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The warning applied to areas in the Alisal, Cave and Thomas fire burn scars. The press release identified the Sisquoc, Garey, Tepusquet and Foxen Canyons areas in north Santa Barbara County as additional areas of concern.

“All areas impacted in the previous storms should remain vigilant,” the press release read.

Coasts and valleys are expected to get 2-5 inches of rain, and foothills and mountains are expected to get 4-8 inches of rain, according to the press release.

UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced that all classes will be cancelled on March 14 ahead of the storm in a message to the campus community.

“All instructors should either cancel and reschedule Tuesday, March 14, classes or teach them over Zoom,” Yang’s message read.

Santa Barbara Unified School District canceled instruction district-wide for March 14 as a result of the expected storm. 

The county is providing updates on a webpage for the March 2023 winter storm, including a map of all areas of concern.

UPDATE [3/13/2023, 10:55 p.m.]: This article has been updated to reflect that UC Santa Barbara cancelled instruction for March 14.

UPDATE [3/14/2023, 6:07 p.m.]: This article has been updated to reflect that the evacuation order was lifted.

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Sindhu Ananthavel
Sindhu Ananthavel (she/they) is the Lead News Editor for the 2023-24 school year. Previously, Ananthavel was the Deputy News Editor for the 2022-23 school year, the Community Outreach News Editor for the 2021-22 school year and an assistant news editor for the 2021-22 school year. She can be reached at news@dailynexus.com.