*for some reason the blog messed up my font sizes and I can't fix them (I've tried). Sorry about the captions being small!
An aerial view of the damage caused by the Montecito mudslides.
In January of 2018, the wealthy town of Montecito just outside of Santa Barbara, California, was devastated by a series of mudslides. The area had been hit hard by the Thomas fire, which at the time of its occurrence was the largest California wildfire in history. The fire vaporized the wax-like material plants use to defend against water loss, and this material fell back to land and collected on the ground. This combined with tree debris littering the ground meant that it was less capable of absorbing water, which left the area vulnerable to mudslide. The Santa Barbara area is made especially vulnerable to mudslides due to its very steep slopes and cliffs, and this combined with weak ground and heavy rain resulted in the disaster, which struck by night and killed at least 20 people from the ages of 3-89, destroyed over 60 homes, and damaged over 500.
Authorities had alerted the community to the possibility of mudslides after forecasts for heavy rain and ordered an evacuation, which likely saved many lives. However, many didn't want to evacuate again after evacuating for the Thomas fire just two months before and chose to stay in their homes, resulting in the deaths from the event. Due to the nearly impassable roads, all search efforts had to be conducted on foot until helicopters arrived on the scene to pick up survivors from their roofs. (Fun fact: Montecito is home to celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey, and since Oprah's property was not badly damaged, she allowed helicopters to use it as a staging ground to conduct rescues)
A Montecito house completely inundated by mud.
Evacuation was enforced in all areas where people were killed, and expanded to include a greater region later in the week so that rescuers would have space to operate. The flooding that caused the mudslide blocked off the US 101, a major freeway connecting Northern and Southern California, and many other roads. Debris carried by the flood also trapped over 300 people in a nearby county, who had to be rescued by helicopter.
Flooding from the heavy rains inundated the US 101, preventing travel for many days.
FEMA has announced that areas affected by wildfires will be prone to flooding mudslides for up to five years after the fire event. With wildfires still raging in a lot of Northern California (see the Carr Fire blog post for more information), ground will continue to remain unstable, and the chance for mudslides like this to occur again is high.
A search and rescue dog searches for victims in a Montecito house.
Works Cited
“California Mudslide: Rescuers Hunt for Survivors and Victims.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42638111.
“California Mudslides: Before and After.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42647131.
“Deadly Debris Flows in Montecito.” NASA, NASA, landsat.visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=91573.
Karimi, Faith, and Dakin Andone. “California Mudslides: Death Toll Rises to 20, 4 Still Missing.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Jan. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/01/14/us/southern-california-mudslides/index.html.
Raymond, Adam K. “Deadly Mudslides Are the Latest Natural Disaster to Hit California.” Daily Intelligencer, 11 Jan. 2018, nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/mudslides-are-the-latest-natural-disaster-to-hit-california.html.
Nice blog post! Have there been any mudslides this severe in the past throughout this area? Also, how long did it take until the area returned to its somewhat natural state? Did the mud ever go away? Do you think this event will cause more people to be more vigilant and cautious next time or have the opposite effect? Great job!
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