Numerous boats swamped as thunderstorm hits Santa Barbara Harbor

Firefighters and emergency personnel were dispatched to Santa Barbara Harbor on Sunday afternoon after high winds associated with a thunderstorm capsized numerous vessels.

Crews responded shortly before 3 p.m. and were searching for possible victims in the water, according to emergency radio traffic.

Most of the vessels appears to be small sailing craft including, the Seashells boats moored near Sea Landing, as well as kayaks.

Volunteers were assisting fire crews and the Harbor Patrol in getting people out of the water.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

There also were several reports of tree limbs and power lines down throughout the city, and heavy rain and winds in Montecito.

A Special Marine Warning was issued shortly before 3 p.m. alerting the public to a strong thunderstorm moving to the southeast from Goleta Point.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Numerous boats swamped as thunderstorm hits Santa Barbara Harbor."