CA - Wind-Driven Thomas Fire Explodes to 31,000 Acres; 150 Structures Destroyed, 2017

[margarita25]

"In*Santa Barbara County, more than 6,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, including residents in parts of Carpinteria, Montecito and Goleta, located below areas scorched by the wildfires over the past year and a half. Those fires included the massive Thomas Fire that started in December and is still not completely out, according to Gina DePinto, a county spokeswoman.

Voluntary evacuation warnings were in effect for another 20,000 people, including others in those same communities, she said.

Los Angeles County officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents of Kagel Canyon, Lopez Canyon and Little Tijunga Canyon, areas affected by the Creek Fire. Police and fire officials in Los Angeles helped with evacuations in areas damaged by the Creek and Fish fires, officials said.

Ventura County also issued both mandatory and voluntary evacuations for several communities."

www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/us/southern-california-evacuations/index.html

 

[margarita25]

Deadly rains in Southern California send rivers of mud into homes, trigger fire, flooding
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weathe...ia-send-rivers-mud-homes-trigger-fire-n836016

"MONTECITO, Calif. — Chaos swept California's Santa Barbara County on Tuesday after a powerful overnight storm hammered the region with heavy rains, leading to the deaths of at least six people and a dramatic rescue of a girl pinned by debris, authorities said.

Among the hardest hit places has been Montecito, a wealthy community sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north, where "massive" runoff sent mud and detritus slamming into homes, said Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason."

Snip

"Eliason said debris ruptured a gas line in one neighborhood in Montecito, causing an unknown number of structure fires. Crews have found it difficult to reach the origin because of blocked roadways."

 

[DakotaMayi]

Do we have an interactive map of evac areas for the mudslides?

 

[margarita25]

"Also making the conditions more dangerous are winds gusting as high as 70 mph through Tuesday night. The rain isn't expected to taper off until early Wednesday."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weathe...ia-send-rivers-mud-homes-trigger-fire-n836016

 

[margarita25]

Do we have an interactive map of evac areas for the mudslides?

Map: Mudslide evacuations in Thomas Fire zone
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/09/map-mudslide-evacuations-in-thomas-fire-zone/

 

[DakotaMayi]

Do we have an interactive map of evac areas for the mudslides?

Sorry quoting myself but I found one posted up thread... I have forgotten. Thanks shana.

Welp, I'm back in a Voluntary Evac Zone as of about 40 mins ago. New predictions say a possible 7" of rain (which is rare around these parts, especially as our drought continues for ~7 years).

Our county website has been down (again).

This link should work, an interactive map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...l=34.449200353180714,-119.56311619001309&z=11

~jmo~

 

[DakotaMayi]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/09/map-mudslide-evacuations-in-thomas-fire-zone/

Can always rely on you, Magz. :tyou:

 

[margarita25]

At least 5 dead as heavy rains trigger flooding, mudflows and freeway closures across Southern California
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-rainfall-mudflow-20180109-story.html

"The deluge that washed over Santa Barbara County early Tuesday was the worst-case scenario for a community that was ravaged by the Thomas fire only a few weeks earlier. In just a matter of minutes, pounding rain overwhelmed the south-facing slopes above Montecito and flooded a creek that leads to the ocean, sending mud and massive boulders rolling into residential neighborhoods, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason

“It’s going to be worse than anyone imagined for our area,” he said. “Following our fire, this is the worst-case scenario.”"

 

[Spellbound]

Do we have an interactive map of evac areas for the mudslides?

there is a map here for Thomas Fire area:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/09/map-mudslide-evacuations-in-thomas-fire-zone/

Shana posted this one, back a few posts:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...l=34.449200353180714,-119.56311619001309&z=11

 

[margarita25]

Yay doggie!! :heart: :cupcake:

"In the 300 block of Hot Springs Road, crews rescued six people and a dog after four homes were destroyed. The mud lifted one home off its foundation and carried it into trees, where it then collapsed, Eliason said. Firefighters used the jaws of life to cut their way into the home where a firefighter heard muffled cries for help from a 14-year-old girl, Eliason said.

A rescue dog pinpointed the girl’s location and two hours later, the mud-covered girl was pulled free. A second 14-year-old girl was also rescued from the same neighborhood and carried from ankle-high mud in a basket by half a dozen firefighters."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-rainfall-mudflow-20180109-story.html

 

[margarita25]

5 dead, Highway 101 shut down as flooding, mudslides, fire hit Montecito
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article193693384.html

 

[margarita25]

IQ, where you at sister? Please check in when you can.
:grouphug:

 

[margarita25]

At least 5 dead as mudslides wipe away homes in fire-ravaged Southern California
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...y-homes-in-california/?utm_term=.b8f36537cfca

"Officials warned that the storm could send slides down any burned-out hillside, of which Southern California is now full. “If you can look uphill from where you are and see a burned-out area, you are at risk,” reads a standing warning from the National Weather Service.

The coastal freeway that connects Santa Barbara to Ventura, where December fires devastated*huge swaths of land, was*completely shut down for more than 30 miles,*the Times reported. It appeared to be entirely submerged in some areas."

 

[margarita25]

"In Los Angeles, about 700 families living along fire-scorched hillsides have been ordered to evacuate, according to the AP.

Some were nevertheless caught in floods or injured Tuesday. Rescuers were forced to use helicopters because trees and power lines had fallen across roads."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...y-homes-in-california/?utm_term=.b8f36537cfca

 

[margarita25]

The Latest: Few heeded California storm evacuation order
http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/The-Latest-California-storm-floods-roads-12484015.php


"12 p.m.

Santa Barbara County officials estimate that just 10 to 15 percent of residents ordered to evacuate heeded the warning ahead of a dangerous storm that has killed five people.

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.

About 21,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders by mid-Monday. County spokeswoman Amber Anderson says only 200 of the 1,200 residents contacted in person had left by the evening.

There is a backlog of calls for rescue or evacuation from the area, where roads are blocked by mud and downed power poles."

 

[margarita25]

(From yesterday)

AFTER AN EPIC FIRE, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS NOW FACING AN EPIC FLOOD
Mudslides, waterspouts, and flash flooding are expected in already hard-hit areas.
https://psmag.com/environment/southern-california-is-now-facing-an-epic-flood

"Nearly double the normal rainfall for the entire month of January—up to 10 inches on ocean-facing mountain slopes—is expected to fall in a matter of hours on Monday night into Tuesday morning. Los Angeles, which received less than an inch of rain between March 1st, 2017, and January 1st, 2018, could get three times that in less than a day. The worry is that the ground, having just been singed by flames, will be unable to sop up the excess moisture, directing damaging mudslides toward the very same communities still in recovery from the fire.

On Monday, Meteorologists raised their highest alert for excessive rainfall as a major Pacific storm is set to take aim—coincidentally—on the exact same stretch of coastal real estate that was ravaged in the Thomas Fire, the largest wildfire in state history.

The Thomas Fire, which is technically still burning, has fundamentally transformed hundreds of square miles in recent weeks, creating a nearly ideal environment for mudslides."

 

[DakotaMayi]

Yay doggie!! :heart: :cupcake:

"In the 300 block of Hot Springs Road, crews rescued six people and a dog after four homes were destroyed. The mud lifted one home off its foundation and carried it into trees, where it then collapsed, Eliason said. Firefighters used the jaws of life to cut their way into the home where a firefighter heard muffled cries for help from a 14-year-old girl, Eliason said.

A rescue dog pinpointed the girl’s location and two hours later, the mud-covered girl was pulled free. A second 14-year-old girl was also rescued from the same neighborhood and carried from ankle-high mud in a basket by half a dozen firefighters."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-rainfall-mudflow-20180109-story.html

BBM.

 

[Spellbound]

Good grief .... I saw a video of one of these mudslides pouring down a main road and it was shocking! And more lives lost... just so unbelievable to someone who lives clear across the states.

 

[IQuestion]

IQ, where you at sister? Please check in when you can.
:grouphug:

Hey there MARGARITA25 I apologize profusely for not checking in with all of you. In my humble defense, I have been running ragged and trying to comply with all the requests from the insurance company, adjusters, city, hazardous waste disposal, attorneys etc. Going to every city meeting and/or disaster relief meeting. I can not emphasize the devastation....it wasn't just a fire, it was an incinerator....fire so hot it melted glass windows, and metal. The dry vegetation was the fuel and the high winds provided the bellows of a blacksmith's furnace.....a furnace that was moving the length of a football field per minute!! Monday night I attended a city meeting (in Ventura County) and they were explaining how dangerous the rains would be due to the lack of vegetation on the hillsides. They showed us maps of the watershed and how devastating the flooding could be.....they told people to call 911 if any of the sewer grids were clogged with debris, etc. (Going to the meeting was a last minute decision, but one I will never regret...and I told Hubby, this is going to be a long night.) Sadly, less than 9 hours later our neighboring county of Santa Barbara (also affected by the Thomas Fire) got a torrent of rain as the storm moved North. In only 5 minutes of hard rainfall, the ash and debris moved down the hillsides and (as of last count) 13 beautiful lives were lost!!! This is horrible.....absolutely unfathomable....
These people lived in one of the most scenic and desirable areas of California.....with all of our technology and USGS maps on flooding scenarios.....how can this happen??????

Reality has set in.....and it hurts deeply....I am crying a bit too much. Mr. Wonderful has noticed the light of my eternal optimism has dimmed significantly. I can't sugar-coat this, recovery is extremely difficult....but our situation is minor compared to the loss of precious lives. Tonight I am praying for the residents of Montecito (Santa Barbara County) and hope there are no more casualties.
IQ.

 

[Hraefn]

Fire leads to flood all too often, but seldom with such tragic results as in Southern California early Tuesday. Flash floods and mudslides took at least 13 lives in Montecito, an unincorporated coastal area of about 9000 residents just east of Santa Barbara. Heavy overnight rains cascaded onto hillsides denuded by catastrophic fire in December, leading to the floods and mudslides. Update (10:15 am EDT Wednesday): The Associated Press confirmed on Wednesday morning that the death toll had risen to 15, as reported by weather.com.

At least 25 other injuries were reported in Montecito. Dozens of residents were rescued, according to the Los Angeles Times. The toll may rise as searchers make their way into areas that were impossible to access late Tuesday. A smaller but still-damaging mudslide was reported in a Burbank neighborhood affected by the La Tuna Canyon Fire last September.

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/l...ng-mudslides-fire-scarred-southern-california