Edhat Staff
Update by Edhat News
7:00 p.m., January 21, 2018
21 people have died and 2 people are still missing in the Montecito mudslides.
Crews continue searching buildings and debris flow for victims. The unstable environment remains a critical threat to civilians and responders. The large amounts of mud and debris are making access and progress challenging. Search and recovery remains the highest priority.
Damage inspection is ongoing and to be considered estimates. More accurate surveys and assessments have realigned the numbers to the most current picture and will continue to fluctuate as data is vetted. A new interactive damage assessment map can be found here.
At 7:00 am Monday, all fire resources will be released and CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 3 will transition command to the Santa Barbara County EOC.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is still enforcing a Mandatory Evacuation Order for specific areas of Montecito. View the map here.
The Red Cross closed their shelter at San Marcos High School on Thursday morning. Anyone needing assistance is being directed to the Local Assistance Center inside Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez.
Casualties and Rescues
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21 confirmed casualties, their identities are available here.
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2 people are missing, their identities are available here.
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28 storm-related injuries
Evacuations
Mandatory Evacuations
The unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria:
NORTH of Hwy 192 to the U.S. Forest Service Boundary: EAST of Cold Springs Road to Toro Canyon Rd on the WEST.
SOUTH of Hwy 192 to the ocean: EAST of Sycamore Canyon Rd/Hot Springs Rd/Oak Rd/Olive Mill to Ortega Ridge Rd on the WEST.
Voluntary Evacuations
All areas SOUTH of Hwy 192 to the ocean:
EAST of Summit Rd/Hot Springs Road/Channel Drive and WEST of Sycamore Canyon Rd/Hot Springs/Olive Mill.
See evacuation areas on this map.
People in these areas should stay alert to changing conditions and be prepared to leave immediately if the situation worsens.
Local Assistance Center
The LAC will initially be open 1/17/18 to 2/3/18 at:
Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara
1 N Calle Cesar Chavez, Santa Barbara, 93103
11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., Monday – Friday
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday
The center will be closed on Sunday
Structure and Property Damage
- 30 square miles affected (19,200 acres)
- 129 homes destroyed
- 307 homes damaged
- 3,000 Single Family Residences Threatened
- 6 Commercial Property Destroyed
- 17 Commercial Property Damaged
- 200 Commercial Property Threatened
#CAstorm– The damage from mudflow is evident in the chapel at La Casa de Maria in Montecito following the heavy rainfall early Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/39mtWGFGvO
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 11, 2018
Personnel
- Total Personnel: 469
- Engines: 11
- Hand Crews: 10
- Helicopters: 0
- Air Tankers: 0
- K9 USAR: 0
- Dozers: 6
- Technical Rescue: 0
- Cooperating Agencies: CalFire, CalTrans, US Coast Guard, US Navy, So Cal Gas, So Cal Edison, SB SAR, American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Public Works, California Conservation Corps.
Traffic
- Highway 101 is now open in both directions
- Numerous road closures off SR-192
- See all road closures here.
Caltrans announced they do not have a timetable for when SR-192 will be open.
Evacuation Centers
The Red Cross Shelter closed. Residents in need can visit Red Cross at the Local Assistance Center or by calling 2-1-1. Services for those currently in need of shelter services will continue to be provided on a one-on-one basis.
Animal shelters accepted at Earl Warren Showgrounds and the Humane Society, for assistance with large and small animals, call (805) 681-4332
Services
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Natural gas has been shut off to most parts of Montecito. It is expected to be several days before restoration. For additional gas outage information, go to socalgas.com/Montecito or dial
1-800-427-2200 -
Power outages are affecting over 6,000 homes and businesses, primarily in the Montecito area.
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Many areas of Montecito are without potable water and sanitary services.
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Water outage is anticipated throughout the Montecito Water District (excluding Summerland).
Water Distribution and Boil Water Notice
Bottled water will be distributed at two locations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. This water is only for Montecito District customers in need of water:
- Montecito Fire Station #2 at 2300 Sycamore Canyon Rd and Cold Spring Rd.
- Summerland Post Office at 2245 Lillie Ave
The boil water notice remains in effect for most customers of the Montecito Water District. The notice has been canceled for the Summerland area as described below:
- East of and including Ortega Ridge Road to the ocean.
- South of and including Hunt Drive.
- West of and including Greenwell Road / Asegra Road
- This area includes Freesia Drive, Caspia Lane, Marguerita Way, and the Montecito Ranch Estates.
An interactive map of this area is located at www.CountyofSB.org
Directions on how to boil or disinfect water: www.montecitowater.com
Beach Closures
In order to protect the public’s health, the Santa Barbara County Health Officer has closed the ocean waters for public use until further notice. Ocean water at the following beaches will remain closed:
- East Beach at Mission Creek
- East Beach at Sycamore Creek
- El Capitan State Beach
- Goleta Beach
- Butterfly Beach
- Hammond Beach
- Carpinteria State Beach
- Rincon Beach
Donations/Volunteer
For donations and volunteer opportunities, please contact these organizations:
- Red Cross local chapter: www.redcross.org or text “redcross” to 90999
- United Way of Santa Barbara County: www.UnitedWayThomasFireFund.org
- Foodbank of Santa Barbara County: 1525 Hollister Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93110
- Salvation Army: 423 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- Unity Shoppe: 1401 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Learn more about donations here.
Resources
- www.countyofsb.org
- Call 211 (local) or (800) 400-1572 (toll-free)
- Call Information Line at (833) 688-5551 or text (805) 699-0165
- More local resources available here.
#CAstorm– With water levels receding, a vehicle is shown that was wrapped and tangled around a tree by the force of deadly flood waters and mudflow on Hot Springs Road in Montecito. In the background are homes that were completely destroyed. pic.twitter.com/w3lp7bokhf
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 10, 2018
PREVIOUS REPORTS
Fire personnel has confirmed that at least 8 people were killed in the Montecito mudslides with at least 25 injured on Tuesday.
Heavy early morning rains in the Thomas Fire burn area sent mud and debris crashing into homes, trapping many people.
Many people are sheltering in place in their homes until they’re able to evacuate. All affected areas will be checked three times by rescue personnel for casualties or missing people.
Representatives of Cottage Hospital stated their Level 1 Trauma Center has been designed to handle a large-scale disaster. They were thankfully double staffed at the time of the event as a shift change was just occurring. Approximately 1,377 physicians, volunteers, and staff are on hand to help those who are injured.
Due to the recent flu epidemic, they’re asking people who have flu symptoms to determine if they’re sick enough for the hospital. If not, please stay at home to make room for people with more severe injuries related to the storm.
At a live press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown stated the main goal for first responders is to look for people who may still be alive and are injured. “We are heartbroken for the loss of life,” said Sheriff Brown. They will release the information about the victims once they have been positively identified with the next of kin notified. A list of missing people will be released once all the information is available.
Many people are still trapped in their homes or neighborhoods as roads are inaccessible, but they are reportedly unharmed. Anyone who is in trapped and in danger must call 911 immediately to be rescued. Approximately 300 people that were trapped in the Romero Canyon area have been evacuated.
#CAstorm– A damaged home off Olive Mill Road in Montecito is shown with receding flood waters still flowing past, as SB County Sheriffs Deputies are staged to assist with rescue/recovery efforts if needed. pic.twitter.com/TLLPDiLeRy
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 10, 2018
Emergency dispatchers handled more than 600 calls between the hours of 3 a.m. – 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Many calls were of people in distress, stranded, and needing immediate rescue. When the daylight came, it “looked like a World War I battlefield,” said Sheriff Brown. Knee-deep mud, debris, downed trees and power lines, with lots of obstacles and challenges for rescue personnel.
The Montecito area is now being called an “Active Rescue Zone.” Sheriff Brown warned people to steer clear of the area and if people who are unauthorized are found in the area, they will be violating the law and guilty of a misdemeanor that will be enforced.
Many questions at the press conference were directed at the areas designated as mandatory or voluntary evacuations and why the mudslides occurred in areas that officials did not expect. Sheriff Brown answered “this isn’t an exact science” and that a team from various agencies gave their “best guess estimate’ as to where this would occur and that they were right. He stated they cannot determine the exact house or block that would be directly impacted.
“We do not take evacuation orders lightly,” said Brown. “A lot of people chose not to evacuate and stay in place.” When reporters asked why people didn’t evacuate, Brown said he felt many were frustrated from the extended Thomas Fire evacuations and they probably thought the mudslides weren’t going to be a problem, but it was.
#CAstorm– Damage to guest cottages at the storied San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito due to deadly mudflow from overnight heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/AJbjxxEdBN
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 9, 2018
The below video, captured by Mike Eliason, depicts rescue crews pulling a 14-year-old girl out of the debris in Montecito home where she was trapped for hours.
#CAStorm – Firefighters rescue a girl who was trapped in Montecito following heavy rain and mudflow in the 300 block of Hot Springs Road. pic.twitter.com/tfUw0cDbXx
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 9, 2018
Santa Barbara County Fire Search Dog Reilly has been busy looking for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito following deadly runoff of mud and debris from heavy rain overnight.
Many of these areas were under mandatory or voluntary evacuations as of Monday afternoon. Many people chose to leave, some chose to shelter in place.
The power is out in Montecito and surrounding areas of Santa Barbara, transformers and gas lines have been repeatedly breaking. Around 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, a suspected gas line rupture is believed to set a home on fire on Park Lane.
Highway 101 has been closed between Montecito and Ventura for numerous debris flow and flooding on the road.
#CAstorm– Santa Barbara County Firefighter’s use a search dog to look for victims where multiple homes once stood in Montecito following flooding due to heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/xZcI4PNmej
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 9, 2018
#CAstorm– Scene from the 300 block of Hot Springs Road in Montecito following debris and mud flow due to heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/L8KkHdlQVQ
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 9, 2018
So where, now, is that guy who was trolling all over yesterday dismissing the various alerts as being totally overstated by incompetent bureaucrats? Seemed to be really enjoying himself at the time.
That troll was anonymous like most…
Was that person really a troll? Or just someone who was really frustrated by how bad the meteorologists are at timing when things like this will actually occur? That is how I understood those postings at least.
Thanks. At least one person around here understood what I was trying to say. I am just as devastated by this tragedy as everyone else and just as speechless thus my lack of further posts.
Try Helping instead of Hindering.
It’s ok…I’m sorry too.
Why didnt you say something last decade when we could have fixed this?
The armchair generals, armed with hindsight, have arrived to shoot the survivors.
Dude… are you watching InfoWars??
Which i s more common after a heavy rain……termites or conspiracy theorists?
When I woke up the missing persons report said 48 then they said oops we meant 8. Now they’re saying 43. I know everyone is doing the best job possible to get us accurate information but I think they should hold off until they can give us better accurate information!! I could see if it was off by a few numbers but 40? Seriously?
Right? I’m hoping for another typo, but really they should be more careful when releasing these numbers…
KEYT keeps giving out wrong numbers. This morning they said that 48 people were missing, but now retracted that number. The other day they said 136 people injured at the hospital, but that was the total number of people that are at the hosptital for other reasons. They are so eager to release new info that they give out wrong info.
I’m sure they are trying their best it’s not that they mean to give out the wrong info listening to a scanner it sounds like many more injuries…Some people are ill with medical conditions they had before the mudslide…As far as the missing those numbers change as more people are accounted for.
It means deleted.
You can be whatever you want I like churches.
I’m an atheist with no love for what is taught in churches, but your comment is vile.
You should hold off trolling.
It’s the same piece of garbage that lied about the dangers of ash, cutting off a quote from the authorities halfway through in order to hide the part that spoke of the risks.
“how bad the meteorologists are”
Another armchair fool.
I like CNN but I don’t like F$X….
The 2 year old has been in the hospital. Had a couple of rough days and either a broken hip or leg, but is doing well now. I saw a video on Friday and looked like a happy but bruised up 2 year old. Father is also in the hospital. Two siblings deceased and mother is one of the three remaining missing.