Search Efforts Continue After California Mudslides Killed At Least 17

By Camila Domonoske,

Published January 10, 2018 at 10:29 AM CST

1 of 10 — A car and debris smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito, Calif. At least 17 people are dead as a result of the mudslides.

A car and debris smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito, Calif. At least 17 people are dead as a result of the mudslides.

2 of 10 — A large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito following the rainstorm.

A large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito following the rainstorm.

3 of 10 — Phillip Harnsberger crosses through mud from a flooded creek on Sheffield Drive in Montecito.

Phillip Harnsberger crosses through mud from a flooded creek on Sheffield Drive in Montecito.

4 of 10 — Mud fills the interior of a car destroyed in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank.

Mud fills the interior of a car destroyed in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank.

5 of 10 — Santa Barbara County Fire search dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito.

Santa Barbara County Fire search dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito.

6 of 10 — U.S. Highway 101 at the Olive Mill Road overpass is flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito.

U.S. Highway 101 at the Olive Mill Road overpass is flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek in Montecito.

7 of 10 — A member of the Long Beach Search and Rescue team looks for survivors in a car in Montecito.

A member of the Long Beach Search and Rescue team looks for survivors in a car in Montecito.

8 of 10 — Santa Barbara County Fire Department firefighters respond to mud and debris flow caused by heavy rains in Montecito.

Santa Barbara County Fire Department firefighters respond to mud and debris flow caused by heavy rains in Montecito.

9 of 10 — 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.

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.

10 of 10 — A semitractor-trailer sits stuck in mud on U.S. Highway 101, in Montecito.

A semitractor-trailer sits stuck in mud on U.S. Highway 101, in Montecito.

Rescue efforts continue in Santa Barbara County, California, as the number of missing in Tuesday's massive mudslides drops to eight while the death toll remains at 17.

Search teams are looking for people who were caught in the deluge of mud and debris that swamped houses, crumpled cars, and sent boulders careening through streets.

Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Amber Anderson said the revised number tallied Thursday follows sheriff's investigations of missing-persons reports. (Earlier reports mistakenly listed the number of missing at 48.)

At least 17 people have died as a result of the mudslides, triggered when heavy rains hit hills that were recently devastated by wildfires, Anderson told NPR.

Some people are still unaccounted for, and the death toll is expected to climb, Danielle Karson reports for NPR.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told NBC what he called "another extremely challenging day as we find out about more of our community members who were killed."

Officials say the region remains unstable due to flooding, debris flow, downed trees and power lines, leaving thousands of people without water or gas.

The county sheriff department on Wednesday declared a Public Safety Zone in Monecito, where most of the missing have been reported. They are asking people to "stay out of the area so that rescuers can do their job."

Emergency service agencies shut off natural gas to most parts of Montecito for repair. It's expected to be several days before restoration.

Power outages are affecting over 6,000 homes and businesses, primarily in the Montecito area.

There has been extensive damage to the water supply infrastructure and residents are instructed to boil water before drinking it.

Roads have been washed out or covered by rivers of mud that also devastated residential neighborhoods.

Karson, reporting for NPR from Pasadena, Calif., said the mudflows above Montecito were so powerful they ripped some homes off their foundations.

"Some rescues have been gut-wrenching: Firefighters pushed through waist-high mud to reach a 14-year-old girl caked in mud from head to toe," Karson reports. "She had been trapped for hours in a pile of wood that was once her house.

"Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown described the devastation this way: 'It looked like a World War I battlefield. It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere.' "

More than two dozen people were injured in the mudslides, member station KCLU reports.

"A number of houses were gutted, with rescuers pulling out people trapped under mountains of debris," KCLU's Lance Orozco wrote on Tuesday night. "Helicopters rescued some people who climbed onto the roofs of their homes to escape the torrent of water, and mud."

More than 500 firefighters have helped with search and rescue operations, Orozco says.