Early results of an ongoing public survey to measure the effectiveness of warning messages issued ahead of and during the deadly 1/9 Debris Flow reveal significant failures by Santa Barbara County officials to properly alert Montecito residents to the dangers they faced. The study is being conducted by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety in partnership with the National Weather Service. Several hundred Montecito residents thus far have completed the survey, which will be followed by individual interviews and focus groups. A final report will be published sometime this fall. Sources: Santa Barbara (California) Independent, NBC 6 (San Luis Obispo, California)