By Mary O’KEEFE

The fires and rains may be over, but the after effects are still being felt as crews clear mud and debris from roadways and search and rescue teams continue their efforts to find victims.

At least 20 people died during the floods and mudslides in Montecito, and there are still victims missing as of press time. The task of searching through the mud and debris was daunting and mutual aid resources were used in several areas. Montrose Search and Rescue was part of the callout.

“We had eight members who responded to this mutual aid operation,” said Doug Cramoline, MSAR lead. “Our teams were assigned to wade through and search the debris field by hand, assist dog teams and assist with the planning and deployment of the various search and rescue teams participating in the operation.”

The eight members of the MSAR team left at about 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 10 and searched until 8 p.m. that night.

“It’s an area where the debris flow totally devastated,” Cramoline said.

Cramoline has lived in the Crescenta Valley area for a long time and his neighborhood had suffered from mudslides and flooding after the Station Fire; however, he said the devastation in Montecito was much worse.

“The flood waters ripped houses apart and threw huge boulders [into homes and roadways],” he added.

He could see that in some of the areas the water and debris were at least 10 feet deep.

“[Debris) filled carports and garages,” he said.

The team members didn’t find any survivors during their time in Montecito but did find evidence of how the mudflows and floods took over the residences.

“It caught [residents] by surprise. I think by the time they realized [what was happening] it was only seconds between the water coming in and a wave [that hit],” he said.

The team saw splash marks on the walls of homes and trees that indicated there was not just an initial wave of flooding and mud but secondary waves as well.

“The force of the flood and debris flow was astounding,” Cramoline said of how he viewed this disaster. “Huge boulders, cars and telephone poles were swept away and became projectiles in debris flows.”

He added the team that responded to the mutual aid call was affected.

“All of us from Montrose Search and Rescue who responded were touched by the damage we witnessed,” he said. “We were honored to help the people of Montecito in some small way through our participation with other agencies and search and rescue teams.”

The road to Montecito and Santa Barbara has been affected by the flooding and debris with a portion of the 101 still closed.

“It’s going to be closed for at least another week,” said Susana Cruz, spokeswoman for Caltrans District 5.

Caltrans has been using vacuum pumps, trucks, bulldozers and other equipment to clear roadways of mud and other debris. There are areas of the highway that have proved challenging and, as of press time, Caltrans was focusing on the Olive Mill Road exit, which is the lowest point of the highway.

After the water and debris is cleared, Caltrans will then begin to inspect the road and make repairs. Two years ago the agency had replaced an area of road near Montecito with concrete slabs; they are hoping these survived the onslaught of mud and water.

“We hope they held up, but we won’t know until we do a visual inspection,” she added.

Caltrans is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to clear the debris. Crews are on 12-hour shifts.

For information on what roads are open, visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov or download the QuickMap application on a smartphone.

  Mary Okeefe, MSAR