Oprah’s home affected by mudslides
MONTECITO: Rescuers on Wednesday used dogs and helicopters to search for victims of powerful mudslides which left at least 17 people dead in a southern California community that is home to major celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey.
Heavy rains on Tuesday sent rivers of waist-high mud and debris flowing from the hills into Montecito and other towns in Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles, which are recovering from last month’s ferocious wildfires.
“The death toll has risen to 17,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.
At least 28 people were injured, authorities said, while 30,000 remained subject to mandatory evacuation orders.
The United States Coast Guard released footage of a couple, their two young children and two dogs being plucked from their roof and hoisted up to a helicopter in baskets.
Yellow bulldozers were clearing the roads of tonnes of sticky brown mud as utility workers restored downed power lines.
Talk-show host Winfrey, who has been touted this week as a possible 2020 candidate for the White House, was among those affected by the mudslides.
Winfrey posted a video of herself
outside her mansion here wading through near knee-deep mud.
Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres posted a picture on Twitter of herself standing in mud next to a downed tree near her home.
“This is the street in front of our house. I don’t know anything about our house yet. I’m heartbroken for our community of Montecito.” AFP