How Montecito looked as rain and deadly mudslides swept through the area
Devastating mudslides that destroyed homes and trapped residents in Montecito on Tuesday occurred in an area that was not under mandatory evacuation orders, officials said.
Mud from a swollen creek slammed into homes in the 300 block of Hot Springs Road and nearby streets. Several people in Santa Barbara County died in the mudslides, but it’s unclear how many were in the Montecito neighborhood.
The area was not directly in the Thomas fire burn zone, officials said. During the fires, the location was under voluntary evacuation because it was far south of the burn area, so officials issued only voluntary evacuation orders there Monday night as the storm approached.
Firefighters work amid floodwaters and mud after debris flow from heavy rains.
Santa Barbara County firefighters rescue a 14-year-old girl after she was trapped inside a destroyed home during heavy rains.
A man rides his bike along Olive Mill Road in Montecito after a major storm hit the burn area.
Duarte city workers Mike Tarr, left, and Efren Castro remove road signs as evacuation orders are lifted in neighborhoods located below the Fish Fire burn area where potential flooding and mud flows are a threat.
Contractors for the city of Ventura work to clear a huge tree toppled by winds on South Chestnut street between Main and Santa Clara Streets in downtown Ventura.
Robert Andersen, left, and Mario Romero, right, work to make their Camino Cielo Road passable as some of it was washed away by the Ventura River along Maricopa Highway 33 North of Ojai that has several closures due to mud and debris slides covering the roadway as rain from the first significant storm system of the year is causing debris flows in recent burn areas across Southern California. The storm is expected to bring unseasonably warm conditions, up to 4 inches of rain, snow, gusty winds and possible thunderstorms.
Mario Romero looks at mud debris covering Maricopa Highway 33 North of Ojai that has several closures due to mud and debris slides covering the roadway as rain from the first significant storm system of the year is causing debris flows in recent burn areas.
A resident stands in water along Padaro Lane in Carpenteria during a rain storm.
A car was stuck in a mudslide early Tuesday on Topanga Canyon Blvd., in Topanga.