California Residents Rescued from Burn Areas As Storms Bring Mud, Flooding

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews rescued residents from inundated homes Tuesday as mud and debris from wildfire-scarred hillsides flowed through neighborhoods and onto a key Southern California highway during a powerful winter storm that dropped record rain across the state. Helicopters were being used even during the downpours because roads were blocked, Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Amber Anderson said. "The primary issue right now is access. We've got trees and power lines down," she said. Rain water pools where a Fountaingrove neighborhood home once stood Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Santa Rosa, Calif. Storms brought rain to California on Monday and increased the risk of mudslides in fire-ravaged communities in devastated northern wine country and authorities to order evacuations farther south for towns below hillsides burned by the state's largest-ever wildfire. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) There were reports of injuries, but Anderson didn't immediately know how many or the extent. She said "multiple" residents had been rescued and more were calling for help in Montecito and Carpinteria. Thousands were without power.  Evacuation orders were issued Monday over fears of mudslides in those foothill neighborhoods where the state's largest-ever fire raged last month. Water and debris in lanes brought coastal U.S. 101 to a standstill, and traffic accidents on rain-slicked roadways across the region slowed the morning commute to a crawl. The first significant stor...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Operations Source Type: news