Drivers along Highway 101 through Montecito have noticed a couple of iconic pines missing from the familiar skyline. Caltrans confirmed that two cypress trees fell over in the highway median between the exits for Sheffield Drive and San Ysidro Road during the raging storm of February 17, which brought wind gusts of 26 mph and nearly 7 inches of rain up at Montecito Peak.
Highway crews removed the trees from traffic lanes that day, and the cut up remains are what drivers now see along the center strip, said David Schaeffer with Caltrans’ District 5. Those too will go when the next highway cleanup is scheduled.