1812 Earthquake
A major earthquake struck on December 21, 1812, causing severe damage to the Santa Barbara Mission buildings and the Presidio compound. The same earthquake also destroyed Mission La Purisima, near what is now the city of Lompoc.
Early 20th Century
The years 1906 through 1914 were especially stormy along the South Coast of Santa Barbara County, with five notable floods.
1913 Wildfire
On September 17, 1913, 108-degree daytime heat paired with dry weather created ideal conditions for wildfire, fueling a small grass fire in Sycamore Canyon to grow quickly out of control. While the intense heat of the day made firefighting difficult,…
1914 Debris Flow
In the late afternoon of January 23, 1914, a storm cell hit the foothills of Montecito and Mission Canyon, dropping four inches of rain in two hours. To make things worse, the downpour came after three days of steady rain that had left the watersheds saturated. When the deluge hit, walls of water, mud, and debris came roaring down the canyons and creeks, washing out nearly every bridge in the south county.
1925 Earthquake
At 6:24 a.m. on June 29, an earthquake estimated as strong as 6.8 hit Santa Barbara, destroying 85 percent of the town’s commercial buildings in 18 seconds. The quake also caused liquefaction in the foothills underneath the Sheffield Dam, causing it to fail, releasing a 45-million-gallon torrent. This floodwave rushed seaward between Voluntario and Alisos streets, carrying trees, boulders, and urban debris. Fortunately, further damage was avoided when the local utility company shut off gas lines to prevent the eruption of major fires.
1925 Casitas Pass Fire
This late-November wildfire burned at least 36 square miles and was deemed critical until rains arrived to relieve firefighting efforts. Earlier that month, all forest outlooks had been relieved of duty as the region’s historic fire season ended.
1955 Refugio Fire
The Refugio Fire of September 1955 was one of the first large-scale wildfires to strike Santa Barbara County in the age of modern fire management. At around 1 a.m. on September 6, a structure fire on La Chirpa Ranch (now named La Scherpa) triggered by an electrical malfunction, providing the spark that would trigger a massive 80,000-acre fire across the coastal range.
1964 Polo Fire
Details are scarce but one report mentioned that the Polo Fire produced a fire tornado and threatened homes in Toro Canyon and along nearby Foothill Road.
1964 Coyote Fire & Flood
The Coyote Fire began on September 22, off Coyote Road, east of Sycamore Canyon, and burned for 10 days before being declared under control. The wildfire’s maximum perimeter was 160 miles and a total of 67,000 acres were burned, 21,000 of which was private land. There was one reported death and 18 injuries, as well as 85 burned homes. Roughly 30,000 acres of the burned area were in the south-slope mountain drainages at risk for subsequent debris flows.
1969 Debris-Laden Flood
A major flood on January 25, 1969, came at the tail end of a week-long storm event, during which nearly nine inches of rain fell on Montecito. Luckily for some residents along Cold Spring Creek, a debris dam put in place after flooding in 1964 flood prevented substantial damages. Areas in the vicinity of Montecito, Buena Vista, San Ysidro, and Romero creeks were not so lucky.