Update: Hwy. 101 reopened in Santa Barbara County after deputies clear bomb threat
Update 7 p.m.:
All lanes of Highway 101 were open again.
Update, 6:20 p.m.:
All southbound lanes on Highway 101 reopened by about 5:30 p.m., according to Caltrans on Twitter.
The status of the northbound lanes on Highway 101 has not been shared by Caltrans.
The California Highway Patrol office in Santa Maria is currently closed and emails sent by The Tribune inquiring about the state of the highway closure and investigation have not received a response.
Update, 5 p.m.:
The southbound lanes in Highway 101 at Union Valley Parkway will reopen in roughly 15 minutes, according to a tweet from Caltrans.
Update, 3 p.m.:
Although CHP and Caltrans announced that Highway 101 would be closed at 1 p.m., it actually remained open for two hours with CHP officers on-scene.
The highway didn’t actually close until 3 p.m. and was expected to last at least a half-hour while the threat is assessed, said California Highway Patrol Officer Maria Barriga.
The hope was that drivers would start diverting to alternative routes earlier while CHP officers waited for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to arrive on-scene with its specialized bomb equipment, Barriga said.
The Sheriff’s Office experienced some delays, which is why CHP was waiting on-scene and had yet to officially close Highway 101 near Cat Canyon Road in Los Alamos, where the potential bomb was discovered.
Although Highway 101 is closed now it will likely reopen again once the possible explosive device is assessed and any threat is neutralized.
Update, 2:30 p.m.:
All lanes have reopened on Highway 101 north of Cat Canyon Road in Los Alamos, Caltrans said on Twitter.
Update, 1 p.m.:
The north and southbound lanes on Highway 101 were closed from 1 to 2 p.m. due to a possible homemade bomb discovered by a Caltrans worker near Cat Canyon Road, according to a news release from California Highway Patrol.
The Caltrans worker called CHP dispatch around 10 a.m. alerting them to the discovery, the release said.
CHP set up a command post and notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, which is responding with its specialized bomb equipment, according to the release.
The freeway is closed for roughly one hour until the Sheriff’s Office determines the roadway is safe.
Original story:
All lanes of Highway 101 are closed near Los Alamos in Santa Barbara County today as of 1 p.m. due to a request from the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans said on Twitter.
Traffic heading north is being diverted at Los Alamos on to Highway 135, Caltrans said.
Drivers heading south will exit at Union Valley Parkway in Santa Maria and head on to Highway 135, Caltrans said.
The closure should last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
It’s unclear why CHP requested the closure at this time.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 1:04 PM.
