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Southern California mudslides: 17 dead, others missing
At least two dozen people are missing
At least two dozen people are missing
https://www.click2houston.com/weather/southern-california-mudslides-wipe-out-homes-leaving-13-deadHeavy rains early Tuesday caused rivers of mud and debris to run down from hillsides in Santa Barbara County, demolishing homes in the affluent seaside community of Montecito weeks after wildfires in the area. Many people are on edge, awaiting news about missing loved ones.
Anxious family members awaited word on loved ones Wednesday as rescue crews searched grimy debris and ruins for more than a dozen people missing after mudslides in Southern California destroyed an estimated 100 houses, swept cars to the beach and left at least 17 victims dead.
"It's just waiting and not knowing, and the more I haven't heard from them — we have to find them," said Kelly Weimer, whose elderly parents' home was wrecked by the torrent of mud, trees and boulders that flowed down a fire-scarred mountain and slammed into the coastal town of Montecito in Santa Barbara County early Tuesday.
The drenching storm that triggered the disaster gave way to sunny skies, as hundreds of searchers carefully combed a messy landscape strewn with hazards.
"We've gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud," said Anthony Buzzerio, a Los Angeles County fire battalion chief. "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."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/victim-search-expands-california-storm-mudslides-kill-13-52253716The cleanup was going on near where Weimer's missing parents, Jim and Alice Mitchell, lived. The couple, together for more than a half-century, didn't heed a voluntary evacuation warning and stayed home Monday to celebrate Jim Mitchell's 89th birthday. She hoped to find them in a shelter or hospital.
"They're an adorable couple, and they were in love with their house. That's their forever home," Weimer said.
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/10/us/southern-california-mudslides/index.htmlRebecca Riskin, the founding partner of Riskin Partners, a Montecito real estate company, is also missing, a relative, Lynne Creighton said.
Riskin began selling real estate in Los Angeles. In 1990, she moved to Montecito, where she climbed to the top of real estate industry, according to the biography on her firm's website.