17 die in killer mud
RESCUE crews with dogs and scanners are digging through waist-deep mud in an affluent stretch of southern California’s coast, searching for 13 people still missing after mudslides killed at least 17.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the death toll hit 17 after two more bodies were found yesterday.
The slides, triggered by a downpour, also destroyed 100 houses, damaged hundreds of other buildings and injured 28 people, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokeswoman Amber Anderson said.
Historic hotels and homes of celebrities including Oprah Winfrey were also hit by the walls of mud that roared through valleys sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the sprawling Los Padres National Forest.
Anxious family members awaited word on loved ones as rescue crews searched grimy debris and ruins for victims.
“It’s just waiting and not knowing, and the more I haven’t heard from them — we have to find them,” said Kelly Weimer, whose elderly parents’ home was wrecked by the torrent of mud, trees and boulders that slammed into the coastal town of Montecito in Santa Barbara County.
The drenching storm that triggered the disaster gave way to sunny skies as searchers carefully combed a landscape strewn with hazards.
“We’ve gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud,” Los Angeles County fire battalion chief Anthony Buzzerio said.
“The mud is acting like a candy shell on ice cream. It’s crusty on top but soft underneath, so we’re having to be very careful.”
Mr Buzzerio and his team of 14 firefighters used long-handled tools to search the muck.
Teams rescued three people yesterday, but they also discovered the extra two bodies
People in Montecito had counted themselves lucky last month after the biggest wildfire in California history spared the town. But the fire led to the mudslide by burning away vegetation.
Real estate agent Marco Farrell was two blocks from home when he heard a rumble he realised was a mudslide.
“I ran as fast I could and yelled, ‘Flash flood!’ as I passed neighbours’ homes,” he said.
Mr Farrell warned his elderly parents and within a minute, a boulder ploughed through their kitchen door. The mud flow went through the home and burst through a back door.