Montecito Mudslide Latest

Thousands of firefighters, utility crews, contractors, and rescue workers have been working around the clock following last week’s deadly mudslides in Montecito. Now considered a search and recovery mission, three people remain missing as of press time; 20 people have perished, and the majority of Montecito residents remain under a mandatory evacuation as crews search for the missing, clear debris, and attempt to fix local utilities.

As of this publication, the missing include 17-year-old Jack Cantin, 2-year-old Lydia Sutthithepa, and 28-year-old Faviola Benitez Calderon. The number of casualties from the January 9 storm and subsequent mudslides/flooding include 30-year-old Pinit Sutthithepa, his son, 6-year-old Peerawat “Pasta” Sutthithepa and his father-in-law, 79-year-old Richard Loring Taylor. Ten-year-old Jonathan Benitez and his cousin, 3-year-old Kailly Benitez, as well as her mother, 27-year-old Marilyn Ramos, were also killed. Sisters Sawyer Corey (12 years old) and Morgan Corey (25 years old) are also among the dead. Other victims include 87-year-old Joseph Francis Bleckel, 48-year-old Martin Cabrera-Munoz, 49-year-old David Cantin, 73-year-old Peter Fleurat, 69-year-old Josephine Gower, 61-year-old John McManigal, 78-year-old Alice Mitchell, 89-year-old James Mitchell, Mark Montgomery (54) and his daughter Caroline Montgomery (22), 61-year-old Rebecca Riskin, and 84-year-old Roy Rohter. We will have much more on the victims in a future tribute edition. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

At a community briefing on Tuesday, local government agency representatives presented information from their respective departments. Kevin Taylor, division chief of Operations for Montecito Fire Protection District, said his department began planning for a potential mudslide event the day after Christmas. Since then, the District has been coordinating with other local fire departments, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department, Flood Control District, and Office of Emergency Management, identifying resources and determining how those resources should be deployed in an emergency. “As the national weather service provided us updates, we learned very early in January that we were expecting a storm,” Taylor said. 

A press conference was held on January 5, followed by letters and phone calls to those in burn areas, and the release of a map that had been developed showing potential flood zones. On January 7, the plan was put in to effect, Taylor said; water courses were cleared from debris basins to the ocean, MFPD up-staffed with rescue task forces, and crews and equipment from the National Guard and Coast Guard. “This up-staffing was unprecedented in our County,” Taylor said. 

Evacuation orders were issued Sunday night, and the Sheriff’s office began the evacuation process. Resources were prepositioned across the front country by 8 pm Monday, and around 3 am, the burn area received greater than half an inch of rain in five minutes. The storm was considered to be a 200-year event, coupled with the denuded hillsides from the Thomas Fire. Moving forward, Taylor and his District, along with other officials, will re-evaluate evacuation zones, based on weather models and debris flow. “Future weather this winter and in subsequent years could cause more problems,” Taylor said. 

• 

• 

At the height of the incident, 2,100 responders were on the ground and in the air, rescuing and recovering people in the first week following the incident. Victims from burning homes were rescued, along with those stranded from the mudslides. Ten helicopters performed 18 hoists in the first two hours and 102 air rescues in the first 14 hours, an unprecedented amount of rescues in the rainy weather. Santa Barbara County Fire chief Matt Ferris, who got caught in the water overtaking Highway 101 on his way to help that morning, added, “We had a plan in place and we implemented that plan, putting people in place to be the most effective that they could be.”

Major damage occurred to both our water system and sanitary system, which is in the process of being restored. Highlines that feed the water reservoirs were broken at every water crossing, the water main was damaged, Jameson lake piping was severed in two locations, hydrants were sheared off, and distribution systems to homes were damaged. Montecito Sanitary District general manager Diane Gabriel reports that as of Tuesday afternoon, her team had visually inspected 1,300 of the 2,000 manholes. Eleven hundred of those were in good condition; others were impacted by mud and debris. Four lift stations have been rehabilitated and are fully functioning. “It is our intent that we will have sanitary/sewer service when the community has potable water service,” Gabriel said. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Sheriff Bill Brown said the current mandatory evacuation is absolutely necessary due to recovery operations and debris removal. Moving forward, infrastructure is the next priority, according to Sheriff Brown.That includes utilities and roads, taking into account the timing of future rainstorms. It is estimated that Highway 101 will be reopened early next week, which will likely be followed by Coast Village Road, which has been closed to the public since January 10. Crews are working 24 hours a day to clear the tons of debris and mud on the freeway, utilizing 90 trucks to move the mud. “Coast Village Road is the only way in and out since the freeway is closed,” Sheriff Brown said. He added that his team is developing repopulation plans, which will likely be done incrementally once utilities are up and running. “I can’t give you an exact time, but I can tell you we are working very diligently,” Sheriff Brown said. 

The Sheriff’s department has escorted hundreds of homeowners back to their home to retrieve important items; if you have belongings needed that are absolute necessities, you may call emergency operations at (833) 688-5551. To retrieve a car in the evacuation zone, call CHP at (805) 477-4174. 

A local recovery and assistance center will open Wednesday, January 17, at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez in Santa Barbara. The center, which will serve as a centralized, single-point location for essential resources and services to help community members recover and rebuild, will be open from 11 am to 6:30 pm Monday through Friday, and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday. It will be closed on Sundays. It will be open initially through February 3, 2018. 

Representatives from various local, state, and federal agencies will provide counseling support, resource and housing assistance, information to aid in rebuilding, permitting, hazardous materials cleanup, loss of business or employment, basic health and human services, and other topics. An updated interactive map of the disaster zone is available online at www.countyofsb.org; there you can assess the preliminary damage to your property.