Wall built on Oprah’s retreat sparks controversy in Montecito
Oprah Winfrey has amassed an impressive collection of Montecito real estate over the last two decades. But the media mogul’s latest headline in the luxury community is not about a house, but a wall — one that neighbors fear might reroute flooding onto their properties during the next rainstorm. After months of heavy rainfall and flooding across the community, a boulder wall was installed along San Ysidro Creek, which runs along Winfrey’s estate, to protect the property from flooding and creek erosion, according to Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk. … It’s a reasonable precaution; Montecito has long been prone to weather disasters, including a 2018 mudslide filmed by Winfrey that killed 23 people, a number of whom were swept into San Ysidro Creek. … But residents fear that the wall could redirect the creek, pushing floodwater onto other properties during intense rainfall.