Mudslide deaths hit 20 as community mourns
MONTECITO, Calif. — Parishioners prayed Sunday for those killed and for families still searching for missing relatives in a Southern California community ravaged by mudslides, as authorities announced another body was found.
The discovery increased the death toll to 20 as the list of those still missing shrunk to four, said Santa Barbara County spokesman Justin Cooper. He did not give any other information.
Because most churches in Montecito are in an evacuation area, many worshippers attended services in nearby towns. At a church in Santa Barbara, they carried flowers, lit candles and prayed for the families who have lost loved ones. The victims were their friends and neighbors, they said.
“Our whole community is devastated,” said Hannah Miller, 74, at Trinity Episcopal Church. “There isn’t anyone who doesn’t know someone who has been affected by this disaster. It is truly awful. We can just pray they find those poor missing people.”
Workers used backhoes, jackhammers and chain saws to clear away masses of mud, boulders and toppled trees after a powerful storm sent flash floods cascading through mountain slopes that were burned bare by a huge wildfire in December.
Crews have made it a priority to clear out debris basins and creek canals before another rainstorm. Long-range forecasts gave the crews about a week before the next chance of rain — and potential new mudslides — although the precipitation was expected to be disorganized and light. Another system was possible two days later.
The mudslides ravaged the tony community, destroying at least 65 homes and damaging more than 460 others, officials said.
The community’s infrastructure was also damaged.