Tens Of Thousands Evacuated Amid Deadly California Rains, Including Wealthy Montecito

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate amid deadly rain this week in California, including celebrity residents of one of the state’s wealthiest communities, according to reports.

The recent series of storms, which had killed 14 people as of Monday and saw a 5-year-old swept away by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County, forced the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people in Santa Barbara County and about 32,000 in Santa Cruz County, according to the Associated Press.

Among the areas evacuated in Santa Barbara County was Montecito, which is home to Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres, the Associated Press reported, adding DeGeneres was sheltering in place on high ground and took to social media to warn others. The evacuation fell on the fifth anniversary of a deadly mudslide in Montecito that killed 23 people and destroyed over 100 homes, according to the Associated Press.

About 400 people and 70 horses were trapped Tuesday at the Rancho Oso RV & Camping Resort by an impassible amount of mud and debris, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Roads turned to rivers overnight in Orcutt and Santa Maria, where some structures were partially submerged in the high water and a sinkhole developed on the Union Valley Parkway, according to the department. The 101 was closed in both directions due to debris flow and flooding, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Santa Barbara Airport was also closed as a result of flooding.

In Santa Cruz County, where the Associated Press reported that homes were recorded via drone sitting in muddy brown water, evacuation orders had been lifted in many areas by late Monday, according to county officials, while certain zones remained in an evacuation warning.