Nets to catch debris during rainstorms removed from California town devastated by mudslides

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — A system of nets intended to catch boulders and other debris during rainstorms in a California hillside community devastated by mudslides five years ago has been removed over a funding dispute.

The nonprofit Project for Resilient Communities installed the ring nets atop several canyons after flooding in Montecito triggered a debris flow that destroyed hundreds of homes and and killed 23 people in January 2018.

A helicopter crew removed the nets Monday, KEYT-TV reported.

The Project for Resilient Communities and the County of Santa Barbara could not come to an agreement on how to continue to fund the safety net system before its permits expire in December, the news station reported.

In late 2018, the nonprofit raised the $6 million initially needed to install the nets and obtained permits for five years. The installation occurred in May 2019.

Pat McElroy, the project’s executive director, said it costs about $60,000 to inspect the safety system annually and it could cost up to $1.2 million to clear the nets after a major rain event.

Now that the safety nets are gone, Montecito will rely on the county’s system of drainage basins to catch any debris from the canyons.

Leal Wageneck, spokesperson for the county’s Public Works Department, said that during last winter’s historic rain events, “no sizable debris came down” Buena Vista Creek where the nonprofit had two nets set up. Wageneck said the county plans to begin construction of a catch basin in that area within the next two years.

The nets were placed in storage, McElroy said.