Death toll rises to 15 as crews continue rescues, recovery in Montecito

The death toll has risen to 15 after heavy rains forced mud and debris through Montecito, downing power lines, destroying homes and closing Highway 101 indefinitely.

“Right now our assets are focused on determining if anyone is still alive in any of those structures that have been damaged,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

Dozens of people were rescued from cars and homes Tuesday, but there are still many more reported missing. Santa Barbara County has opened a center to help people looking for their loved ones.

Most of the deaths occurred in and around Montecito, the Associated Press reported. The area is home to celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe.

Winfrey’s home survived the mudslides. In an Instagram post, the star showed video of her walking in mud past her ankles in her backyard, as well as an image of an early-morning gas fire she said she woke up to on Tuesday.

“Praying for our community again in Santa Barbara,” Winfrey wrote. “Helicopters rescuing my neighbors. Looking for missing persons.”

Authorities had been preparing for the possibility of catastrophic flooding because heavy rain was forecast in the area for the first time in 10 months, the Associated Press reported. Though mandatory evacuations were ordered, only an estimated 10 to 15 percent of people in a mandatory evacuation zone in Santa Barbara County heeded the warning, according to the Associated Press.

Thomas Tighe told the Associated Press he stepped outside his Montecito home in the middle of the night and heard “a deep rumbling, an ominous sound I knew was … boulders moving as the mud was rising.” Two cars were gone from Tighe’s driveway and he watched two more move down the middle of the street, through a river of mud.

Tighe also told the Associated Press he saw a body pinned by mud against his neighbor’s home. He wasn’t sure who it was.

Highway 101 is expected to remain closed until at least Thursday night, as crews work to clean debris, water and mud from the road. Train service is stopped south of Santa Barbara — the tracks are blocked by rubble. Pacific Surfliner didn’t have an estimate of when tracks would be clear, but didn’t expect them to be open by Wednesday.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office declared a public safety exclusion zone in the affected areas to help responders with rescue and recovery efforts. Residents can shelter in place, but are not allowed to move around the area.

The county also said most parts of Montecito would be without natural gas service, and it may take several days to restore. The area will also be without “potable water, electricity, and sanitation for an unknown/extended period of time due to the storm.”

An evacuation shelter is set up at Santa Barbara City College. Residents can call 211 for more information, or visit countyofsb.org.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Death toll rises to 15 as crews continue rescues, recovery in Montecito."