Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department via APIn this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, U.S. 101 freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass is flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito, Calif. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesMud fills the interior of a car destroyed in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.- Ventura County Sheriff's Office via APIn a photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 9, 2018, an aerial view of damage caused by mudslides in Montecito, Calif. At least 15 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured as a vast area northwest of Los Angeles, recently scorched in the state’s largest wildfire on record, became the scene of another disaster.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesTwo cars washed downhill in a rain-driven mudslide are seen in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesMud fills a street after a rain-driven mudslide destroyed two cars and damaged property in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- Stan Lim, Los Angeles Daily News via APA women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people and a dog were rescued by a helicopter after large amounts of rain fell, trapping the group at a homeless encampment in the river.
- Stan Lim, Los Angeles Daily News via APA man is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people and a dog were rescued by a helicopter after large amounts of rain fell, trapping the group at a homeless encampment in the river.
- Stan Lim, Los Angeles Daily News via APA women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people and a dog were rescued by a helicopter after large amounts of rain fell, trapping the group at a homeless encampment in the river.
- Fabrice Coffrini, AFP/Getty ImagesWorkers remove mud and water after a mudslide in Eyholz near Visp on Jan. 9, 2018. Somes residents had to leave their homes in Eyhol after heavy rainfalls.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesMud fills a street after a rain-driven mudslide destroyed two cars and damaged property in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesJournalists stand in ankle-deep mud after a rain-driven mudslide destroyed two cars and wrecked property in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesMud fills a street after a rain-driven mudslide destroyed two cars and damaged property in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty ImagesMud fills a street after a rain-driven mudslide destroyed two cars and damaged property in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Five people were reported killed.
- In this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, shows a rainbow forming above Montecito, Calif. while law enforcement and the curious survey the destruction on Hot Springs Road on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
- In this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito, Calif. is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
- Michael Owen Baker, The Associated PressCars sit in mud at a housing complex in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
- Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department via APThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows the sun setting over the flooded US 101 Freeway at Olive Mill Road, which remains flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during the Thomas wildfire.
- Michael Owen Baker, The Associated PressCarpinteria resident Jeff Gallup carries his bike through mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Homes were swept from their foundations as heavy rain sent mud and boulders sliding down hills stripped of vegetation by Southern California's recent wildfires.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesMud is cleared off a side road off the US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesJournalists cover the news from a flooded US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesA police vehicle drives across a flooded side road off the US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesDriver Gabriel Panduro steps out of his truck stuck in the mud since early morning when mud brought it to a standstill along a flooded US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesA bulldozer clears mud off the road near a flooded section of US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty ImagesTOPSHOT - A hydrant is almost covered in mud which came down hillsides from overnight rain in Montecito, California on Jan. 9, 2018. Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said Tuesday.
- Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via APThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows the U.S. Highway 101 at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
- Michael Owen Baker, The Associated PressA large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito, Calif., following the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
- Stan Lim, Los Angeles Daily News via APA member of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's swift water rescue team is hoisted back to a helicopter after rescuing three people and a dog on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif.
Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP
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In this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, U.S. 101 freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass is flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito, Calif. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
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By Amy Brothers | abrothers@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED:
Getting your player ready...
MONTECITO, Calif. — At least 13 people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
Rescue crews used helicopters to pluck people from rooftops because trees and power lines blocked roads, and firefighters pulled a mud-caked 14-year-old girl from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.
Read the full story here.
