Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and tennis legend Jimmy Connors are among the thousands who have been affected by flash flooding and mudslides in southern California that have already left at least 13 people dead.
Multiple bodies were found during the rescue operations on Tuesday in Montecito, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, after downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills that were stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in the state in December.
Most deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres. One person was also killed in a weather-related fatality in Los Angeles County.
At least 13 people have died in southern California after downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills that were stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in the state in December. Among those affected are Oprah Winfrey, who shared a number of videos on Instagram showing the knee-deep mud in her yard, a gas fire nearby and helicopters rescuing her neighbors
Winfrey’s home in Montecito survived the storms, but the surrounding areas were heavily damaged. In another video on her Instagram, Oprah Winfrey shared footage of a gas fire that broke out Tuesday morning amid the mudslides
Most deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Winfrey (left with Stedman Graham), Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres. Pictured above, Winfrey’s $50million home in Montecito
An aerial view of Montecito, California, shows homes and roads completely washed away by mudslides that hit the area on Tuesday
Santa Barbara County Firefighters work amid flood waters and debris flow during heavy rains in Montecito, California, on Tuesday
Heavy rains overnight combined with large areas burned by the Thomas Fire combined for flash flooding and mudslide risk. Pictured above, a debris cluttered street in Montecito
A car remains stuck in the mud as a cleanup crew work to clear mud beside a closed off section of US Hwy 101, flooded after mud and debris broke through an embankment along the freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito
At least 25 people were injured in the mudslides and others were unaccounted for as of Tuesday.
Winfrey’s home survived the storms, but she shared a number of videos on Instagram showing the knee-deep mud in her yard, a gas fire nearby and helicopters rescuing her neighbors.
‘What a day!’ she said on the social media site as she filmed from her $50million esate in Montecito. ‘Praying for our community again in Santa Barbara.
‘Woke up to this blazing gas fire. then swipe left to see how deep the mud is in my backyard. Helicopters rescuing my neighbors. Looking for missing persons.’
Former tennis star Connors told his Twitter followers that he had to be evacuated from his home by helicopter.
‘Montecito — fires burn- rain comes- mud slides and devastation- evacuated today by helicopter- thoughts and prayers for all !!!’ he wrote. Connors has owned an 800-square-foot home in the neighborhood since 2001.
Rescue crews used helicopters to pluck more than 50 people from rooftops because trees and power lines blocked roads, dozens more were rescued on the ground and firefighters pulled a mud-caked 14-year-old girl from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.
Firefighters are pictured above rescuing a girl from the mudslide. Multiple bodies were found during the rescue operations on Tuesday in Montecito, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles
At least 25 people were injured in the mudslides and others were unaccounted for as of Tuesday. Pictured above, emergency personnel rescued a young woman from a collapsed house in Montecito
The first confirmed death was Roy Rohter (pictured above), a former real estate broker who founded St. Augustine Academy in Ventura. His wife Theresa was injured by the mudslide
Firefighters rescue a 14-year-old girl who was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito on Tuesday. Rescue crews worked for six hours using the jaws of life and other tools to free her from the mangled wreckage, but she walked away
A handout photo made available by Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a rainbow forming above Montecito while law enforcement and the curious survey the destruction on Hot Springs Road following heavy rains in Montecito
A man wades in a flooded section of the US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit after the disastrous and deadly flooding
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued mid-Monday but officials estimated that just 10 to 15 per cent of residents actually heeded the warning ahead of the dangerous storm
Former tennis star Jimmy Connors told his Twitter followers that he had to be evacuated from his home by helicopter. Connors has owned an 800-square-foot home in the neighborhood since 2001
‘I thought I was dead for a minute there,’ the girl could be heard saying on video posted by KNBC-TV before she was taken away on a stretcher.
The death toll could increase when the search is deepened and expanded Wednesday, with a major search-and-rescue team arriving from nearby Los Angeles County and help from the Coast Guard and National Guard along with law enforcement.
They’ll focus first on finding survivors.
‘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.
The sheriff said ‘at least several dozen homes that have been either destroyed or severely damaged, and likely many other ones are in areas that are as-yet inaccessible.’
He said it’s likely they’ll find more people amid that destruction.
Power: A vehicle lies wrapped and tangled around a tree by the force of deadly flood waters on Hot Springs Road
A boulder blocks a road after heavy rains caused deadly mudslides. The rain storm in southern California has destroyed several homes and killed at least 13 people
Wrecked: A car is piled up in debris after a mudslide trapped it after heavy rains in Montecito, California
Santa Barbara County Fire Search Dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito on Tuesday
US 101 was completely impassable at the Olive Mill Road overpass after it flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek. The critical coastal highway has been completely shut down for 30 miles between Ventura and Santa Barbara
Debris and mud cover the entrance of the Montecito Inn after heavy rain brought flash flooding and mudslides to the area
Carpinteria resident Scott Mayfield walks through the mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria on Tuesday
Carpinteria resident Jeff Gallup carries his bike through mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria on Tuesday
Officials said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that the death toll was 13.
But Santa Barbara County CEO Mona Miyasato emailed her staff shortly after so say the number had increased to 16, the Santa Barbara Independent reported.
Sheriff Bill Brown said that identities of those killed in the mudslides until family members had been notified.
The first confirmed death was Roy Rohter, a former real estate broker who founded St. Augustine Academy in Ventura. The Catholic school’s headmaster, Michael Van Hecke, announced the death and said Rohter’s wife was injured by the mudslide.
The mud was unleashed in the dead of night by flash flooding in the steep, fire-scarred Santa Ynez Mountains.
Burned-over zones are especially susceptible to destructive mudslides because scorched earth does not absorb water well and the land is easily eroded when there are no shrubs.
The torrent of mud early on Tuesday swept away cars and destroyed several homes, reducing them to piles of lumber.
Damaged vehicles carried by mud flow and debris at the exit of the parking garage to The Montecito Inn
Debris and mud cover the street in front of local area shops after heavy rain brought flash flooding on Tuesday in Montecito
Rescue crews are seen in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday. Heavy debris flows and mudslides blocked roads, forcing helicopter evacuations of residents trapped in their homes
Officials estimate that only 10 to 15 percent of the 21,000 people who were under mandatory evacuation orders actually left. The map above shows the mandatory (red) and voluntary (yellow) evacuation zones issued before Monday’s storm
The 101 turned into a river of mud and debris outside of Montecito as officials ordered the coastal highway closed for 30 miles
The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass was flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek
‘I came around the house and heard a deep rumbling, an ominous sound I knew was … boulders moving as the mud was rising,’ said Thomas Tighe, who discovered two of his cars missing from the driveway in the middle of the night.’
‘I saw two other vehicles moving slowly sideways down the middle of the street in a river of mud.’
In daylight, Mr Tighe was shocked to see a body pinned by muck against his neighbour’s home.
Authorities had been bracing for the possibility of catastrophic flooding because of heavy rain in the forecast for the first time in 10 months.
Evacuations were ordered beneath recently burned areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
But only an estimated ten to 15 per cent of people in a mandatory evacuation area of Santa Barbara County heeded the warning, authorities said.
Sheriff Bill Brown said that a number of deaths and rescue missions occurred in voluntary evacuation zones, where about 23,000 live.
Gas leaks caused multiple structure fires and rivers of mud pounded Montecito, were multiple people died in the mudslides
A K-9 search and rescue team walks into an area of debris and mud flow due to heavy rain in Montecito on Tuesday
Search and rescue crews are seen working amid the destruction where homes once stood in Montecito on Tuesday
The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains
The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains
Santa Barbara County firefighters tend to a woman on Hot Springs Road while waiting for an ambulance early Tuesday. The woman was pulled from a debris pile in Montecito caused by heavy rain runoff
US Highway 101, the link connecting Ventura and Santa Barbara, looked like a muddy river and was expected to be closed for two days.
The worst of the rainfall occurred in a 15-minute span starting at 3:30 a.m. Montecito got more than a half-inch in five minutes, while Carpinteria received nearly an inch in 15 minutes.
Some of the worst damage was on Montecito’s Hot Springs Road, where the unidentified girl was rescued and residents had been under a voluntary evacuation warning. Large boulders were washed out of a previously dry creek bed and scattered across the road.
Montecito is beneath the scar left by a wildfire that erupted on December 4 and became the largest ever recorded in California.
It spread over more than 440 square miles and destroyed 1,063 homes and other structures. It continues to smoulder deep in the wilderness.
A yearslong drought eased in the state last spring, but Northern California had a dry start to winter and hardly any measurable rain fell in the south over the past six months.
The extremely dry conditions and high winds last year led to some of the most destructive blazes on both ends of the state.
The storm walloped much of the state with damaging winds and thunderstorms.
Downtown San Francisco got a record 3.15 inches of rain on Monday, smashing the old mark of 2.36 inches set in 1872.
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work in Sun Valley on Tuesday. Heavy rains overnight combined with large areas burned by several recent wildfires in Southern California combined for flash flooding and mudslide risk
Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters work admid flood waters and mud after debris flow during heavy rains in Sun Valley
Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters work admist flood waters and mud after debris flow during heavy rains Tuesday
A rescue team removes their boat after a swift water rescue in the Los Angeles River early Tuesday at Lake Balboa