Clean Up Continues At 2 Camarillo Springs Homes After Mudflow

CAMARILLO (CBSLA.com) — Crews continued to clear mud Monday from two houses following a major debris flow that prompted the evacuation of nearly a dozen Camarillo Springs homes over the weekend.

A moderate rainstorm Friday night apparently soaked the hillside, which had burned in the 2013 Springs fire, behind about a dozen homes on San Como Lane, causing a river of debris to break through doors and trap at least one resident waist-deep in mud.

Henry Needham had to be freed by firefighters, who used a chainsaw to break through the front door, after he was buried waist-deep in mud. His wife, Marie, was swept out the door by the mud.

But the Needhams were much more concerned about their dachshund, Tinkerbell, who was initially believed buried in the mud. But Tinkerbell was spotted later by neighbors sitting in a window of a home and was reunited with his family Sunday.

"Finding the dog gave them a huge boost, positive boost," the Needhams' neighbor and friend Val Palmer said. "They're obviously devastated. The whole process of going through the house is overwhelming to them right now.

The Needhams have lived in the Camarillo Springs community for close to 30 years and they say they plan to rebuild. However, fire officials say they don't have an exact time frame for when they will be allowed back inside their home.