Cannabis products seized from a house in Los Olivos. Photo contributed

After search warrants were executed on May 21, detectives located six labor workers and cannabis products in the 2400 block of Grand Avenue in Los Olivos, where they were in the process of trimming cannabis, which originated from an illegal and unlicensed grow in Lompoc, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department officials. 

“The labor workers were believed to be unlawfully employed, one of which was a minor and prohibited by state law,” according to Kelly Hoover, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department. 

From this location, detectives seized several items of evidence, some of which included more than one thousand pounds of processed marijuana, cannabis oils and extracts, and various components of a volatile extraction device (clandestine butane honey oil lab), Hoover stated in her press release. 

Contemporaneous to the first search warrant, detectives and investigators executed another search warrant at the suspect’s home, located in the 100 block of San Ysidro Rd in Montecito.  While there, Detectives located more than one hundred pounds of cannabis packaged for sales, cannabis oils and extracts, and other items of evidence indicative of illegal and undocumented sales.

Miguelito Canyon grow. Photo contributed

On May 22, detectives executed a search warrant in the 2500 block of San Miguelito Canyon in Lompoc. They located more than 19,000 cannabis plants in various stages of growth in three separate areas of the 108 acre parcel. Additionally, thousands of pounds of dried, drying and processed cannabis were also located.  All cannabis was ultimately seized and destroyed.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, 37-year-old Brian Adams of Montecito was cited for cultivating, transporting and sales of cannabis without a license.

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Westmont College will offer a bachelor of science degree in engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering beginning in fall 2019, blending courses in engineering, physics, mathematics and chemistry and grounding the program in the college’s liberal arts tradition.

The new major continues Westmont’s tradition of cultivating innovation, collaboration, problem-solving and moral discernment in graduates.

“Through the ages, the greatest minds have possessed the unusual capacity to make connections across every discipline and in every sphere of life and thought — in the arts and sciences, in the humanities, in technology and industry, and in the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning,” said President Gayle D. Beebe.

“We seek to make this remarkable capacity — the genius to find innovative solutions to enduring problems — a hallmark of our engineers,” he said.

The launch of the new program coincides with Westmont’s capital campaign to raise $250 million for new academic programs, student scholarships and long-term financial stability through endowment growth.

 “As educators and leaders in our world consider local and global challenges, more of the solutions and strategies require insights from engineers, especially when addressing social mobility, caring for the environment, reducing poverty and promoting human welfare,” said Provost Mark Sargent.

“Blending voices from engineers in discussions with economists, theologians, ethicists, historians, sociologists and other experts in the arts and sciences can enrich the ability of a Christian liberal arts community to cultivate justice, pursue peace and foster human flourishing,” he said.

Westmont is responding to an invitation from the National Science Foundation challenging schools to prepare adaptive engineers committed to blending science, engineering and the arts.

“The new engineering program offers a great opportunity to students who are technologically inclined but eager to ground their training in a rich Christian liberal arts tradition,” said Eileen McMahon McQuade, professor of biology and associate dean of faculty.

“Our engineering graduates will benefit from thorough technical and scientific training as well as an interdisciplinary sensitivity and moral imagination that the Christian liberal arts can nurture,” she said.

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Contributing Writer

Massive mounds of boulders and rocks that roared down Oak Creek and filled a culvert near Fred Brander’s Montecito home during the deadly Jan. 9 mudslides now sit in piles at his Santa Ynez winery.

“We didn’t really have any damage to the house but had so much debris,” Brander said as he pointed to the numerous piles of rubble at his 42-acre vineyard on north Refugio Road. “We had about 60 truck loads (brought here), which is about 900 tons of rock.”

The smaller rocks are being separated from the dried mud using a low-tech rock sorter on his property, and the soil will be used to fertilize a 10-acre section of the vineyard. The larger boulders will be used for landscaping and also become part of a rock wall on the property that’s also home to Brander Winery.

Laurie Jervis / Noozhawk photo
A Brander Vineyard employee shovels soil from the Montecito debris flow onto cabernet sauvignon grape vines

Brander said because his home is so high up on the hill — it was only 100 yards away from the Thomas Fire fire line — there are no toxic contaminants in the soil, as could be case closer to the ocean. The soil has been tested, Brander said, and it came back negative for contaminants.

“I have never heard of anyone using mud from a mudslide or ash from a fire to fertilize (their grapes),” Brander said. “This is a very novel, unique idea.”

His thoughts were to use the mineral-rich soil from the mudslides, which the county needed to haul out of the area, to grow a richer grape that will produce a stellar varietal, while also helping the county move tons of debris to an alternative sight.

“My parents’ and grandparents’ generation would grow vegetables in their garden and they would use ash from their stove to fertilize their vegetables, and those were far more nutritious than what you get today,” Brander said. “It has nothing to do with organic. It has to do with ash has a lot of potassium, a lot minerals … just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it has those minerals.”

Brander contacted the trucking companies that had contracted with the county to remove the mud and boulders from Montecito to see where the material was heading and learned a good portion of it was to be brought to Los Olivos.

“Essentially, it was all county money,” Brander explained about have some of the debris delivered to his winery instead. “I said, ‘You could take it to Los Olivos or here; it’s a shorter trip. They basically did it for free.’”

Brander believes the sorting process will take the next few months and said it’s likely not all of the soil undergoing separation will be applied to the vineyard, at least not this season.

In all likelihood there will probably be so much soil when the process is complete that there will be material left over, he said

“We’ll just use it in stages,” Brander said. “If we don’t finish it this year, we’ll finish it next year. We’ll have to wait until September or October of this year to see this result, but we should, obviously, influence the growing season this year. The idea is to have really good grapes from use of that soil.”

Brander plans to make a Cabernet Sauvignon from the grapes grown on the soil. The varietal won’t be available until about October 2019.

“It will be a small batch,” he added. “Maybe a couple hundred cases.”

The longtime Santa Ynez winemaker would also like to see a special label created for the wine and possibly hold a community contest to choose a name for the varietal that will be produced only the one time.

“Sort of a name that expresses the whole idea of taking the mud from the mud slide and converting it to a good use,” he said.

Brander plans to donate the proceeds from the wine to Montecito mudslide relief efforts.

For more information, visit www.brander.com.

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Noozhawk Staff Writer

Montecito-area residents and business owners have filed nearly $422 million in insurance-claim losses since the deadly Jan. 9 debris flows, according to the California Department of Insurance.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said during a media conference April 2 that insurers have received more than 2,000 claims for residential and commercial property losses, destroyed vehicles and other items.

Jones said there were 1,415 insurance claims listing $388 million for residential property losses, 235 claims totaling $27.2 million in losses for commercial properties, and 388 claims totaling $6.7 million for auto and other lines of insurance.

“Behind these figures lay loss of life, loss of homes, loss of properties and loss of precious moments, loss of businesses,” Jones said.

“These numbers tell only a part of the tale of the devastation that Montecito and other communities suffered.”

Twenty-three people were killed, and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed in the debris flows, which also caused huge infrastructure damage to the Montecito area.

Santa Barbara County is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on a recovery map for Montecito, and updating flood hazard area maps, and rebuilding could take years.

Jones said the total amount of insured losses is likely to increase as more residents file claims with their insurers and as insurance companies adjust claims.

He outlined actions taken to reassure homeowners who did not have mudslide or flood coverage at the time of the debris flows. The state Department of Insurance has informed property and casualty insurance companies to honor claims if the residents had fire insurance.

The “proximate cause” of the debris flow was the catastrophic Thomas Fire in December that burned 281,893 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, he said.

Jones issued a formal notice in January to insurers reminding them of their duty to cover damages from the mudslide and debris flow if it’s determined the destruction of the land by the wildfire was the mudslide’s efficient “proximate cause.”

“The formal notice had a positive effect on the insurers,” Jones said.

Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com.

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Social media in Santa Barbara lit up with excitement that Caltrans confirmed Highway 101 will reopen in time for the Monday morning commuter traffic on Jan. 22. The highway has been closed since the deadly mudslide and debris, while construction crews have been working night and day to get the road back open.

A before and after photo from the Montecito mudslide that clogged Highway 101 for two weeks, and today is the top photo.
Photo contributed

“We are very proud of our dedicated Caltrans staff along with our partner agencies who have responded to this major natural disaster,” said Tim Gubbins, Caltrans District 5 district director, in a press release.

The press release also stated that some off ramps will remain closed, however onramps will be open.

“AMAZING JOB so grateful for our first responders working day and night to open the 101,” said Fari Hadi-on, on the Carpinteria and Summerland Thomas Fire Network Facebook group.

If the highway officially opens to public traffic prior to the Monday morning commute, it will be announced on Twitter (@CaltransD5) and Facebook (Caltrans Central Coast), according to the Caltrans press release.

The shutdown of the highway has impacted not just commuter traffic but visitor traffic as well, with businesses in northern Santa Barbara County being affected.

“I for one have been very inspired by how neighbors have been stepping up to take care of one another during this time of crisis and mourning. As we wait for Highway 101 to reopen, business is not as usual either, even though January has historically been quieter than other months. But I sense a collaborative spirit keeping our chins up, supporting and sharing what we do best: hospitality,” said Tracy Farad, executive director of the Solvang Conference and Visitor’s Bureau.

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Staff Report

Parts of Montecito, one of the most affluent communities in California, have been reduced to piles of rocks, mud and debris after torrential rain the night of Jan. 9 swept down slopes recently denuded by the Thomas Fire

In an unprecedented event, more than half an inch of rain fell in five minutes, and much more in the following hour, which triggered flooding, debris flows and mudslides that residents described as an earthquake.

When daylight came, massive boulders were everywhere while buildings, vehicles and other property had been swept away.

“I was there when it all started and never slept after that. I attempted to get my car, but it was hanging off a bridge,” said Kevin Christy of Montecito.

Christy, who was evacuated, said the scariest part was hearing the noises and seeing the volume of water. (Watch the video of our interview of Christy on our Facebook page or our website, www.santaynezvalleystar.com.)

By the afternoon of Jan. 10, more than 17 people had been confirmed dead as authorities continued their search for others reported missing and still more who were trapped in their homes. More than 100 homes and other structures were confirmed as destroyed and another 300 damaged.

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The intersection of Hot Springs and Olive Mill roads appeared to be the epicenter of the disaster after as mud, water, boulders and other debris surged out of Cold Spring and Hot Springs canyons above Montecito, which had been denuded by the giant Thomas Fire. The deadly slurry from Montecito Creek carved a course of destruction down nearly to the ocean.

Crews worked to evacuate people by helicopter from Romero Canyon, where about 300 people were trapped, and from the Birnam Wood Golf Club, a collection point for people who could not otherwise get out of the area, Montecito Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Kevin Taylor said.

Much of the damage and many of the casualties occurred in areas that were under evacuation warnings rather than mandatory evacuation orders.

Highway 101 through Montecito was closed at least until Monday, Jan. 15, after it was inundated in several feet of mud and debris that included abandoned vehicles, a boat and water tanks. Updates of road conditions will be posted on our website and social media pages.

Dozens of people were treated at Santa Barbara and Goleta Cottage Hospitals for storm-related injuries.

Normally vegetation absorbs rainfall and reduces the amount of runoff from slopes, but large-scale wildfires create a waxy surface on soil that prevents absorption.

The Thomas Fire burned a significant portion of the south-facing Santa Ynez Mountain slopes above Carpinteria and Montecito, as well as the watershed behind Jameson and Gibraltar Reservoirs, according to Santa Barbara Public Works Director Tom Fayram.

Fayram urged homeowners to plan evacuation routes and have supplies to shelter in place, in addition to preparing their properties for heavy rainfall, because the deluge was only the first storm of the season, with more wet weather predicted in the coming weeks.

Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton contributed to this story.

The post Flood, mud, debris devastate Montecito appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Even in the winter, farmers in Santa Barbara County and surrounding areas continue to provide high-quality produce at local farmers markets.

While markets may be slightly smaller on rainy days, all markets organized through the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association (SBCFMA) remain open as regularly scheduled, unless the weather is so horrendous the farmers can’t get their produce out.

(You can check the association’s Facebook page to get updates.)

The SBCFMA is a nonprofit mutual-benefit corporation founded in 1983 to provide farmers with direct access at landmark locations to market their agricultural products directly to the community. The association, owned and operated by its approximately 30 grower members and its board of directors, is committed to helping promote local family farmers while protecting the environment.

The group’s website, sbfarmersmarket.org, serves as the hub that invites those interested to look at their local farms and read their back stories, as well as a blog with posts about different produce or why planting mint in your garden is beneficial in addition to recipe ideas such as Super Bowl Sliders.

For more information, go to sbfarmersmarket.org.

Farmers Market Schedule

– Tuesdays: Old Town Santa Barbara, 3 – 6:30 p.m., 500-600 block of State Street

– Wednesdays: Solvang, 2:30 – 6 p.m., First Street from Mission Drive to Copenhagen Drive.

– Thursdays: Goleta, 3 – 6 p.m., corner of Storke and Hollister, 7004 Marketplace Drive in the Camino Real Shopping Center

– Thursdays: Carpinteria, 3 – 6 p.m., 800 block of Linden Avenue

– Fridays: Montecito, 8:30 – 11:15 a.m., 1100 and 1200 blocks of Coast Village Road

– Saturdays: Downtown Santa Barbara, 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., corner of Santa Barbara and Cota Streets

– Sundays: Goleta, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., corner of Storke and Hollister, 7004 Marketplace Drive inside the Camino Real Shopping Center

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