I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in Montecito for work following the debris flow disaster. It’s been a whirlwind assessing structures, developing systematic approaches for the mud removal to prevent additional damage, and talking with homeowners and families about the tragedy. It’s been hard seeing the destruction and knowing it’s your home town. Any tragedy is difficult, but especially when it’s so close to home it’s makes it that much more so. The destruction is intense and humbling to see the power of Mother Nature.
I’ve seen 2’ diameter trees in houses, boulders bigger than SUVs resting against houses, 4 feet of mud in bedrooms, cars that are so damaged and compressed they are smaller than my desk. I went to a bridge to assess fire damage only to find that the 40’ Long, 30” deep steel wide flange beams (I-beams) had been carried down stream by the debris flow; nobody knows where they ended up.
My photos can’t do it justice. It’s hard to capture the extent of the disaster with an iPhone.
No comments:
Post a Comment