Powerful Windstorm Rakes Waterfront

Powerful Windstorm Rakes Waterfront

SANTA BARBARA – A powerful northeast windstorm with gusts nearing 100 miles per hour caught the waterfront off guard in January when strong winds caused thousands of dollars of damages to buildings and boats.

“It really pummeled the waterfront,” said Mick Kronman, harbor operations manager for the Santa Barbara Waterfront Department. “ I was astounded to see that amount of torn sails and the number of coolers and trash cans blown into the harbor.”

Waterfront staff went to work repairing damages boats and building on January 10. Kronman estimates the winds caused thousands of dollars of damage to buildings and boats.

The Waterfront Center Building had shingled blown off its roof, and sailboats were blown on top of one another on West Beach. A boat was also blow off its jack stand at Harbor Marineworks’ Boatyard. A cleanup crew on contract deployed a skiff and cleaned up the debris blown into the harbor.

All repairs had been completed at press time.

“These events at the harbor are few and far between,” Kronman said. “It’s not that common to see winds coming from the north blasting its way through the harbor that way.”

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