Latest Santa Barbara numbers: 17 dead and 59 homes destroyed; Highway 101 closed until Monday

More people were rescued Wednesday in the aftermath of storm-triggered mud and debris flows in Santa Barbara County, but the death toll rose to 17 and officials said at least 59 single-family homes had been destroyed. 

Officials said 16 people were still missing as of Wednesday evening and 28 were injured. Four victims were in critical condition, according to Dr. Brett Wilson of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

“Most injuries we saw were related to fast-moving debris,” Wilson said. “You can’t even fathom what these poor patients went through to finally make their way to the emergency department.”

The debris flows were triggered by a storm at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday that dumped rain on hillsides where vegetation burned last month in the Thomas Fire. The debris, mud and floodwaters knocked buildings from their foundations and trapped people in their homes and vehicles, especially in hard-hit Montecito.

On Wednesday, muck and debris still covered a portion of Highway 101, rendering it impassable between Highway 150 in Carpinteria and Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones said that portion of the major traffic artery will be closed in both directions until Monday.

“Our goal is to open the roadway as soon as possible, but only when it is safe to do so,” Jones said Wednesday afternoon. 

Read more:What are debris flows and why do they occur?

The closed stretch of Highway 101 serves about 95,000 vehicles per day, Jones said, and the only detour is via Interstate 5, far to the east, and Highway 166.

With train tracks impassable, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service shut down Tuesday north of Oxnard and was to remain that way through Thursday morning to allow removal and cleanup of debris. Service is still offered between Oxnard and San Diego, officials said.

Other than by air, ferry shuttle trips provided by Island Packers and Condor Express offer the most direct route between Ventura and Santa Barbara. The trip between the Ventura and Santa Barbara harbors takes about two hours each way.

Officials said that in addition to the 59 single-family homes that have been destroyed, 446 had been reported damaged as of Wednesday afternoon. Eight commercial buildings were destroyed and 20 were damaged, officials said.

In total, more than 1,700 structures remain threatened.

Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor said more than 500 first responders and 10 rescue dogs were involved with search-and-rescue missions Wednesday. 

Among those helping was Anthony Buzzerio, a Los Angeles County fire battalion chief.

“We’ve gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud,” Buzzerio said. “The mud is acting like a candy shell on ice cream. It’s crusty on top but soft underneath, so we’re having to be very careful.”

Buzzerio led a team of 14 firefighters and six dogs in thick debris. They used long-handled tools to search the muck in the painstaking task.

Teams rescued three people Wednesday, but they also discovered two more bodies, raising the death count to 17, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

About 50 people were hoisted to safety during helicopter rescue operations between Tuesday and Wednesday, said Yaneris Muniz, a Santa Barbara County spokeswoman. Many of those people had scrambled to their roofs to escape the mud or because debris had blocked roads and left them stranded. An additional 50 people were rescued on the ground, Muniz said.

Among those rescued by both air and ground crews were residents of the Romero Canyon neighborhood in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. About 300 residents of the area had been trapped.

But some victims of the mudslide were still waiting for rescue.

In what’s being called the public exclusion zone, people who’d not evacuated before the mudslides were required to stay in their homes, and the only other people allowed to be there were first responders. Without power, water and gas, more of the residents have been contacting first responders to be extricated from the area that includes the heavily damaged area of Montecito between Olive Mill Road and Sheffield Drive.

Muniz reported that more than 6,000 people were estimated to lack power as of Wednesday morning.

The debris flows came after a heavy band of rain struck the area, causing a creek that drains into the ocean to overflow and unleashing mud, boulders and other debris into Montecito neighborhoods from the steep, Thomas Fire-scarred Santa Ynez Mountains, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Prior to the storm, neighborhoods north of Highway 192 had been placed under mandatory evacuation orders, while areas south of Highway 192 were under voluntary evacuation orders.

Read more:Storm stories: Spared from flames but not terror

After Tuesday’s mudslides, northbound Highway 101 was closed as far south as Highway 126 in Ventura, but the closure at that point was removed at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. 

Highway 33 remained closed north of Ojai from Fairview Road to Lockwood Valley Road, officials said.

Highway 150 between Lake Casitas and Highway 192 in Santa Barbara County reopened around midnight Tuesday, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said federal aid allocated for disaster relief in response to the Thomas Fire will now cover damage caused by flooding, mudslides and debris flows directly related to the fire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.