Need a tow? Towing in Orcutt, CA
Just 6 road miles from the center of Santa Maria, Orcutt is the nearest town we serve - and it has no police force of its own. Whether you need the wheel-lift or the flatbed, you'll hear the price before we head over.
Pick the closest road in: Broadway, the 101 or Highway 1
Orcutt borders Santa Maria to the south, roughly 6 miles by road from the city center, and depending on where you're stopped, our trucks take one of three routes:
- Broadway (the 135) - heading south through Santa Maria and onto the Orcutt Expressway, which has an on-ramp at Clark Avenue and a frontage road running to Union Valley Parkway.
- US 101 - off at exit 166 for Union Valley Parkway or exit 165 for Clark Avenue, the road that crosses Orcutt from the freeway over to Highway 1.
- Highway 1 - along Orcutt's western edge, while the 135 forms the town's eastern and southern boundary.
Which road we take depends on your cross street, so that's our first question. You'll get a time window and the price during the call, whether it's 3 a.m. or midday. The two agency offices listed below only keep weekday hours - our trucks run all the time.
Watch these Orcutt roads: the expressway, Clark Avenue and Union Valley Parkway
Caltrans's notices call Highway 135 through town the Orcutt Expressway. On June 5, 2026, when crews shut the northbound Clark Avenue on-ramp for maintenance, Caltrans sent drivers along the frontage road to Union Valley Parkway instead.
Stall on the expressway and through traffic is rushing right past you. Stuck in a lane? Dial 911 - the CHP has to secure the scene before a tow truck can help. Made it to the shoulder? Turn on your hazards and have everyone climb out on the side farthest from the cars. Either way, your emergency tow from the Orcutt Expressway goes wherever you choose unless an officer says otherwise. On a June morning in 2019, when two northbound cars collided near East Union Valley Parkway and one struck a light pole, the CHP handled the scene, and the northbound lanes reopened by 7:01 a.m.
Away from the expressway, the county's wall-cleaning and painting project, started in July 2026, gives a good map of Orcutt's busiest streets: Clark Avenue between Highway 1 and the 101, Union Valley Parkway, and South Bradley Road from Santa Maria Way to Rice Ranch Road, with Orcutt Road, Foster Road and Lakeview Road coming in later phases. Union Valley Parkway and South Bradley Road cross at a heavily used intersection.
Schools bring lots of people on foot. In April 2026, county Public Works swapped the two-way stop at Hummel Drive and Union Valley Parkway for a traffic signal after a study counted enough pedestrians - many of them students - to justify it.
If you're on the 101, Orcutt has two exits - 165 at Clark Avenue and 166 at Union Valley Parkway. Let us know which you passed and your direction of travel.
Orcutt has the CHP and the Sheriff, not a city police force - here's who handles what
With 32,034 residents at the 2020 Census, Orcutt is part of unincorporated Santa Barbara County - the CHP's Santa Maria office describes it as one of California's largest unincorporated towns. That means no city police department and no city council setting parking rules.
The CHP handles traffic here. Under its enforcement policy, it covers every non-freeway road in unincorporated areas as well as the freeways, so a collision on Clark Avenue or the Orcutt Expressway - and the tow that clears it - falls to the CHP Santa Maria Area, 1710 North Carlotti Drive, open weekdays from 8 to 5.
Everything else in law enforcement goes to the Sheriff. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Santa Maria Station at 812-A West Foster Road serves about 800 square miles of unincorporated land around the city - Orcutt, Sisquoc, Casmalia, Tepesquet, Tanglewood and Los Alamos among them - and is open weekdays from 8 to 5, closing for the noon hour.
- Car taken from an Orcutt street or the expressway
- Call the CHP Santa Maria Area at (805) 608-6310
- Deputies had it towed
- Sheriff's Santa Maria Station, (805) 934-6150, or Sheriff's dispatch after hours at (805) 683-2724
- Removed from a private lot
- Read the entrance sign - CVC 22658 says it must identify the tow company and give its number
- Stored versus impounded
- The registered owner can pick up a stored car directly from the tow company; an impounded car needs a release from whichever office impounded it first
For the full sequence of calls when a car disappears anywhere in the area, see our guide to finding a towed car near Santa Maria.
Tell us your drivetrain and we'll match the truck to your Orcutt tow
Six miles isn't far, so in Orcutt the car you drive moves the price more than the distance. A front-wheel-drive car headed to a Clark Avenue shop can go on the wheel-lift. An AWD or electric car, a lowered car or a motorcycle gets the flatbed even for a short hop, since the carmakers' warnings apply no matter how short the trip is.
A good share of Orcutt calls end without a tow - a battery that died in a driveway off Rice Ranch Road or a school lot, a flat on Bradley Road, keys left on the seat. For those, we send roadside help for Orcutt drivers, and your car stays right where it is, running again.
We run light-duty trucks: a pickup or van is well within their rating, a fully loaded produce truck is not, and you'll hear that from us before you spend any time waiting.
Keep going south: Los Alamos, Vandenberg and Lompoc
Past Orcutt, the 135 continues toward Los Alamos, while Highway 1 branches off to Vandenberg's main gate and on to Lompoc, a longer trip for our trucks. We cover Casmalia, Sisquoc and Tanglewood with the same call. Heading north, Orcutt blends right into Santa Maria, home base for our 24-hour towing service.
Frequently asked questions
I live in Orcutt - isn't that just part of Santa Maria?
No. Orcutt is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County that sits right against Santa Maria's southern edge and has its own ZIP codes, 93455 and 93457. Because it has no city government, the CHP takes care of traffic and the Sheriff's Santa Maria Station handles general law enforcement.
Someone towed my car in Orcutt - is the record with the CHP or the Sheriff?
If it was removed from an Orcutt road or the expressway, start with the CHP Santa Maria Area at (805) 608-6310. If sheriff's deputies had it moved, call the Santa Maria Station at (805) 934-6150 on weekdays or Sheriff's dispatch at (805) 683-2724 after hours. For a private-lot tow, check the sign at the lot's entrance - it has to tell you which tow company is used and how to reach it.
I'm in Orcutt - are you close enough to get here quickly?
Orcutt is roughly 6 miles by road from central Santa Maria, our shortest trip to any town we serve. Over that distance, your vehicle affects the price more than the miles do, and you'll get both the price and a time window on the phone.
I had a crash in Orcutt - who writes the report and orders the tow?
In Orcutt that's the CHP. Its enforcement policy puts traffic on non-freeway roads in unincorporated areas under its authority, and Orcutt is unincorporated, so crash reports and the tows that clear the road go through the CHP Santa Maria Area. Sheriff's deputies take care of other law enforcement in town.
My car died on the Orcutt Expressway - what do you need to know to find me?
Tell us your direction - northbound or southbound - and which cross street you're nearest, Clark Avenue or Union Valley Parkway, so our driver arrives on the correct side. If you're stopped in a traffic lane, your first call is 911, since only the CHP can hold back traffic around you.
An Orcutt tow is priced in one call - here's what to have ready
Share these four details and we'll give you an exact Orcutt price before anything rolls.
- Your whereabouts - an Orcutt cross street, the expressway plus your direction, or exit 165 or 166
- Your ride - AWD, electric cars and motorcycles ride the flatbed
- The problem - won't start in the driveway, died on Clark Avenue, a crash, a flat, or keys locked in
- Its next stop - an Orcutt repair shop, a dealer in Santa Maria or your home