Actor Rob Lowe, whose home was threatened by the fire, was also calling attention to Montecito on Twitter and Instagram.
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One of the crew’s rescue swimmers Erin Custer told Fox 5: “The first floor of their house was about three, four feet (90-120cm) of mud, so they were having to wade through”. “You have to put a shield up and do your job and just remember … that’s not to say that it doesn’t upset us but when we’re out here we just do our job”. The rain triggered massive mudslides.
In the disaster area, firefighters are going door to door to check the structural stability of homes damaged in the storm. The mudslide have damaged hundreds of buildings and caked highways with sludge.
The cause of death for most of the victims will be listed as multiple traumatic injuries resulting from flash floods with mudslides, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s office said Thursday.
More than 29,000 people are under the evacuation orders which could last for at least a week.
Much of the community of about 9,000 remained under mandatory evacuation orders, even unscathed areas, as crews both removed debris and worked to restore water, sanitation, power and gas.
As of 7 a.m. Sunday, officials said they are calling the incident a search and recovery effort, and no longer a search and rescue effort.
“It is heavy. It’s wet”. Winfrey ran into some members of the Venture City Fire Department while on her walk, and the audience applauded as one of them described the area and said that they are still searching for victims.
About 7000 residents in Santa Barbara County were ordered to evacuate before the downpour on Tuesday, and another 23,000 were urged to do so voluntarily. “Massive.” Ellen also shared a video of the street and the area filled with mud-covered debris from fallen trees to boulders. Mudflows traveled through neighborhoods near where Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres have homes. Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Amber Anderson told reporters some 1,250 emergency workers were at work Friday, slogging through soupy mud and uncertain footing to search for anyone who is trapped.
A Mexican woman says her 27-year-old sister, her 3-year-old niece and the girl’s 10-year-old cousin died when pre-dawn mudslides hit the home they were renting in Montecito.
“We’re still in rescue mode and we still hope to find someone alive, although the chances of that are becoming slim”, Santa Barbara County spokesman Justin Cooper said.
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Oprah Winfrey, who just days ago won the praise of Hollywood with a Golden Globe lifetime achievement award, is now being directly affected by the damage. On Saturday, authorities said during a press conference that the 19th person killed was identified as 25-year-old Morgan Christine Corey, of Montecito.
