Carpinteria (Calif.) Unified School District school bus drivers transport critical personnel for their district and the area, traversing a wet, muddy section of Highway 101.
PHOTOS: School Buses Traverse Mudslide Area
Teachers and other district staff members, city employees, water district employees, and hospital staff met at Carpinteria High School at 5 a.m. to head out to work.
Pictured here, center, school bus drivers Jose Ochoa, Christina Morelli, and Jack Martinez, wait to drive. Also shown: Carpinteria USD Superintendent Diana Rigby (left), and Michael Littlejohn, the district's transportation and warehouse supervisor (right).
As the convoy heads out to Santa Barbara, a passenger snaps some photos.
Littlejohn described the highway conditions as "kind of surreal," noting mud piled up on the sides of the road and around some of the houses.
The California Highway Patrol assisted the bus drivers and ran traffic breaks to keep motorists from getting between the buses.
Carpinteria (Calif.) Unified School District school bus drivers recently transported critical personnel for their district and the area, traversing a wet, muddy section of Highway 101 that was closed due to mudslides. Shown here is driver Jose Ochoa.
Two public transportation agencies in Ventura — Santa Barbara Mass Transit District and the Ventura County Transportation Commission — ran a convoy of 14 buses from Ventura to Santa Barbara.