California

Two Weeks After Storm, Evacuated Homeowners Trickle Back Into Montecito

Emotional residents are trickling back to the California coastal town that was devastated two weeks ago by mudslides that killed at least 21 people and destroyed more than a hundred homes.

Santa Barbara County officials lifted evacuation orders this week for about 1,600 people in the hillside enclave of Montecito, while thousands of others waited for word that it was safe to return to their homes.

Authorities warned that the returns would be gradual and many people would have to stay out until at least the end of the month.

The town's narrow streets were clogged with bulldozers and utility trucks as crews remove mud and boulders and rebuild drainage pipes and power lines. Utility workers are also busy restoring water and sewage pipes, gas service and electricity.

Montecito was hit by debris-laden flash floods on Jan. 9 when downpours from a storm hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge wildfire. Hundreds of homes were damaged. A 17-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl remain missing.

Village Service Station reopened shortly after the mudslides, providing fuel, food and restrooms for emergency responders.

Owner Keith Slocum said Thursday that "it looked like a Third World country" in the days after the disaster but since then crews have made significant progress clearing roads. He's eager to learn when neighboring businesses will be allowed to reopen.

"We really could use something definitive," he said. "I don't know what the benchmarks are for why they open some parts and don't open others."

The majority of residents and businesses in and around the town of about 9,000 people have yet to receive an all-clear advisory.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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