Edhat Staff
A Montecito man details his experience of surviving the mudslide, rescuing a 2-year-old from debris, and the heroic efforts made by firefighters on the Ellen Show this week.
Berkeley “Augie” Johnson was in a voluntary evacuation zone early Tuesday morning on January 9. His family stayed in their Montecito home when the mudflow hit, destroying their house and causing them to flee to the roof and wait for help.
After being rescued, Johnson helped look for neighbors with fire crews. It was then that he and a firefighter heard the small cries of a 2-year-old. “It’s amazing,” Johnson told DeGeneres during his interview, “He came from half a mile upstream.” KSBY also interviewed Johnson just shortly after this experience where he became emotional about the rescue.
The boy and his father survived, however, the majority of the boy’s family did not. Jonathan Benitez (10 years old), Kaelly Benitez (3 years old), Marilyn Ramos (27 years old), and Faviola Benitez Calderon (28-years-old) died during the mudslide. Read more about this family here.
Johnson, whose own son Nick passed away in 2014 during a swimming accident at Santa Barbara High School, says he felt his son helped them get out safely that morning. He’s now committed to help the young boy he rescued and the Benitez family. A gofundme page has been created in their honor.
The episode aired on The Ellen Show on Tuesday, January 23. Watch the full interview below:
Thank you Ellen for bringing attention to the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide.
So thankful she is here for our community all the time. Its just great seeing her at the park on sundays and when we walk downtown during the weeks. I can’t think of a more down to earth person besides Oprah or….
That was an Amazing story…
My Belinda was a Big, Huge fan of Ellen’s I think she is a nice woman but one day she was buying gas in my HOOD. I was staring at her because she was Ellen she noticed me looked scared and took off…It gave me a complex I had to go to therapy…