Editing Montecito, California (section)

==History==
[[File:Arcady (slide) (3953273520).jpg|thumb|left|The gardens at Arcady, a [[Mission Revival architecture|Mission Revival]] estate built in 1905 for industrialist [[George Owen Knapp]]]]
[[File:"Las Tejas," Oakleigh Thorne house, 170 Picacho Road, Montecito, California. LOC 6950361704 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Las Tejas, a [[Spanish Colonial Revival architecture|Spanish Revival]] estate built in 1917 by architect [[Francis W. Wilson]] for banker [[Oakleigh Thorne]]]]
The site of present-day Montecito, along with the entire south coast of Santa Barbara County, was inhabited for over 10,000 years by the [[Chumash people|Chumash]] Indians. The Spanish arrived in the 18th century but left the region largely unsettled while they built the [[Santa Barbara Presidio|Presidio]] and [[Mission Santa Barbara]] farther west.<ref name="MJ 2021-08-12">{{Cite magazine |last=Beresford |first=Hattie |date=2021-08-12 |title=A Brief History of the Development of Montecito |url=https://www.montecitojournal.net/2021/08/12/a-brief-history-of-the-development-of-montecito/ |access-date=2024-07-27 |magazine=Montecito Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the middle of the 19th century, the area was known as a haven for bandits and highway robbers, who hid in the oak groves and canyons, preying on traffic on the coastal route between the towns that developed around the missions. By the end of the 1860s, the bandit gangs were gone, and Italian settlers arrived. Finding an area reminiscent of Italy, they built farms and gardens similar to those they had left behind.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Around the end of the 19th century, wealthy tourists from the eastern and midwestern United States began to buy land in the area.<ref>Covarrubias, Amanda (January 19, 2015) [http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-miramar-20150120-story.html "Montecito poised to decide on a modern version of Miramar Hotel"] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''</ref> It was near enough to [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]] for essential services while still being secluded. Desirable weather and several nearby [[hot spring]]s offered the promise of comfortable, healthy living, in addition to the availability of affordable land.<ref>Baker, p. 61-62</ref>

The [[Montecito Hot Springs]] Hotel was built near the largest of the springs, in a canyon north of the town center and directly south of Montecito Peak, in Hot Springs Canyon. The hotel burned down in 1920; it was replaced a few years later by the smaller Hot Springs Club.<ref>Baker, p. 62</ref>

The architect [[George Washington Smith (architect)|George Washington Smith]] is noted particularly for his residences around Montecito, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th century America, as is [[Lutah Maria Riggs]], who started as a draftsman in Smith's firm, rose to partner, and later started her own firm.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pridgen |first=Andrew |date=2022-05-20 |title=One of the wealthiest enclaves in California is uninsurable against wildfires |url=https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/Montecito-homes-uninsurable-against-fire-17184446.php |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref>

Montecito was evacuated five times in four months between December 2017 and March 2018 because of weather-related events, which included the [[Thomas Fire]], the [[2018 Southern California mudflows]], and flooding related to the [[Pineapple Express]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/montecito-is-everything-bad-about-climate-change-in-a-single-california-town/ |title=See Everything Bad About Climate Change in a Single California Town |last=Molteni |first=Megan |date=March 23, 2018 |magazine=WIRED |access-date=March 24, 2018}}</ref>  The mudflows resulted in 20 reported deaths; 28 others were injured, and at least four people<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/13/all-people-who-died-california-mudslides/1031202001 |title=Here are all the people who died in the California mudslide |work=[[USA Today]] |date=January 14, 2018}}{{dead link|date=February 2025}}</ref> were reported missing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ksby.com/story/37252693/five-people-now-missing-17-killed-in-montecito-mudslides |title=Five people now missing, 17 killed in Montecito mudslides |work= KSBY |access-date=25 January 2022 |first1=Charlie|date=12 January 2018|last1=Guese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112184007/http://www.ksby.com/story/37252693/five-people-now-missing-17-killed-in-montecito-mudslides |archive-date=12 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-mudslide-officials-scramble-clear-debris-another-storm-hits-n837591|title=California scrambles to clear mudslide debris before new storm hits|work=NBC News|date=January 15, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="SFGate1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/California-storm-follows-fires-bringing-new-12483375.php|title=13 dead in Southern California as rain triggers mudslides|date=January 9, 2018|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=January 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110044507/http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/California-storm-follows-fires-bringing-new-12483375.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="LATimes-Jan11">{{cite news |last1=Mejia |first1=Brittny |last2=Hamilton |first2=Matt |last3=Etehad |first3=Melissa |last4=Tchekmedyian |first4=Alene |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Up to 43 people still missing in Montecito; dead include four children |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mudslide-recovery-mainbar-20180111-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> [[FEMA]] gave the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District $13.5 million in 2020. The funds will be used to buy land in Montecito&nbsp;to construct an $18 million project that will help control debris flows from San Ysidro Creek with a larger [[debris basin]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Orozco|first=Lance|date=October 28, 2020|title=Federal Grant Sets Stage For Project To Try To Prevent More Dangerous Debris Flows In Montecito|url=https://www.kclu.org/post/federal-grant-sets-stage-project-try-prevent-more-dangerous-debris-flows-montecito|access-date=2020-10-29|work=KCLU News|language=en}}</ref>