15 DEAD IN MUDSLIDE TRAGEDY
Crews search desperately for survivors
MUDSLIDES that struck southern California after a torrential rainstorm left at least 15 people dead yesterday.
Rescue crews searched for people trapped in the onslaught that smashed homes and swept away cars around Santa Barbara County, weeks after fire burned the area.
A mud-caked 14-year-old girl was pulled from a collapsed home where she had been trapped for hours in Montecito.
The town, a wealthy enclave of 9000 near Los Angeles, is home to celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres.
Winfrey shared photos of the deep mud in her garden, adding: “What a day! Praying for our community.”