(Photos: Mike Eliason / SBCFD)

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.

Photo: Mike Eliason / SBCFD

Casualties and Rescues

21 confirmed casualties, their identities are available here

2 people are missing, their identities are available here

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.

Photo: Mike Eliason/SBCFD

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

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.

Many areas of Montecito are without potable water and sanitary services.

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

Reported by Edhat News

January 9, 2018

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.

Mike Eliason photo

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