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Residents Told To Stay Out Of Montecito While Recovery, Cleanup Efforts Continue

MONTECITO, Calif. (CBSLA/AP) — Frustrations and dark discoveries mounted for the Santa Barbara County town of Montecito, which has been ravaged by a destructive mudslide that has killed at least 18 people and left another seven missing.

Montecito mudslides
A search and rescue team make their way up a mud covered hillside in Montecito, California on January 12, 2018. Heavy rains on January 9 sent rivers of waist-high mud and debris flowing from the hills into Montecito and other towns in Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles, which are still recovering from last month's ferocious wildfires. At least 17 people died and dozens of residents are still unaccounted for.(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Most of the people of Montecito, a town usually known for its serenity and luxury, were under orders to stay out of town as gas and power were expected to be shut off Saturday for repairs.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown on Thursday expanded what was known as the public safety exclusion zone to incorporate most of the town. That meant even those who had stayed behind would have to leave and those who entered the zone would be subject to arrest.

"It is a little frustrating," said Sarah Ettman, whose home was undamaged and whose section of town still had gas and electricity. "It's martial law here, basically."

The Latest Coverage On The Montecito Mudslides

However, with most utilities about to be cut off and sewage running into the nearby creek, she decided to heed the order to leave.

"I mean you're losing all your basic health and sanitation services," she said. "When those go down, you have to leave."

More than 1,200 workers taking part in the search and cleanup effort flooded into the town with a population of about 9,000. Rescuers were busy probing thick muck, swollen creeks and tangled trees with poles in search of the seven missing people while dogs sniffed for bodies.

Montecito mudslides
Search and rescue team workers walk past a demolished property in Montecito, California on January 12, 2018. Heavy rains on January 9 sent rivers of waist-high mud and debris flowing from the hills into Montecito and other towns in Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles, which are still recovering from last month's ferocious wildfires. At least 17 people died and dozens of residents are still unaccounted for.(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

A crew found the body of the 18th victim, Joseph Bleckel, 87, before noon Friday in his home near Romero Canyon, Brown said. It was the first death discovered since Wednesday. The cause of Bleckel's death wasn't announced, but all other victims died from multiple traumatic injuries due to a flash flood and mudslides.

The seven missing people included Fabiola Benitez, the mother of Jonathan Benitez, a 10-year-old killed in the flooding.

Fabiola lived with her sister-in-law, Marilyn Ramos, 27, who was asleep with her daughter, Kaelly, 3, when mud crashed through their Montecito rental home, carrying both to their deaths.

"My sister was such a good person, she only thought of others to the point that she would cry with you when you were hurt or sick," said Ramos' sister, Jennifer Ramos, pausing to sob for several seconds.

The husbands of both women and the 2-year-old son of Fabiola Benitez, were hospitalized with injuries, Ramos said.

A backhoe scooped up mud and rocks around buckled and flattened homes, while bulldozers cleared roads of tangled trees, muck and boulders. Tanker trucks were being used to haul off floodwaters sucked up from U.S. Highway 101, the crippled coastal route connecting Santa Barbara to Ventura.

The 101 Freeway has been closed since Tuesday. The freeway was closed between State Route 150 in Carpinteria north to Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. There was no estimate on when it would reopen due to the large amounts of mud and debris damage.

Brown said the recovery effort has been hindered by residents who had stayed behind or tried to check on damage in neighborhoods where homes were leveled and car-size boulders blocked roads and littered properties.

The mudslide was another difficult turn for those living in the town that has been subject to repeated evacuation orders in recent weeks, first because of the monster Thomas Fire last month, then because of downpours and mudslides.

The 281,893-acre Thomas Fire, which broke out Dec. 4 in Santa Paula, was brought to 100 percent containment Friday, the U.S. Forest Service said. The largest in California state history, the blaze forced thousands of people to evacuate and destroyed a staggering 1,063 structures — including more than 750 homes.

Drenching rains that unleashed the deadly torrents managed to finally contain the Thomas Fire, which burned above Montecito and stripped the steep hills of vegetation, making it prone to mudslides.

While Montecito is best known as a getaway for the rich and famous — the median home price among current listings is more than $4 million — there are also working families living in modest houses and apartments.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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