advertisement

Thousands attend vigil for California mudslide victims

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) - Thousands of people gathered Sunday night at a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to the 20 people who were killed when mudslides ravaged a Southern California community.

Tears were shed and hugs and prayers were shared during the emotional service outside the Santa Barbara County courthouse. Mourners lit prayer candles and left flowers as a makeshift memorial for the victims.

"Tonight, we need to mourn," Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams said. "It is breathtakingly horrible. Our community is going through something it has never gone through."

Those at the vigil included the family of 30-year-old Pinit Sutthithepa, whose body was discovered Saturday afternoon. His 2-year-old daughter, Lydia, remained missing. His 6-year-old son, Peerawat, nicknamed Pasta, and his 79-year-old father-in-law, Richard Loring Taylor, also were killed in the mudslides. Family members said they were too distraught to speak.

"This family is one of several that lost multiple family members," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. "And we know that the suffering of those who knew and loved all of the victims is immense."

The list of those still missing in the mudslides has shrunk to four.

Because most churches in Montecito are in an evacuation area, many worshippers attended services in nearby towns on Sunday. At a church in Santa Barbara, they carried flowers, lit candles and prayed for the families who have lost loved ones. The victims were their friends and neighbors, they said.

"Our whole community is devastated," Hannah Miller said at the Trinity Episcopal Church. "There isn't anyone who doesn't know someone who has been affected by this disaster. It is truly awful. We can just pray they find those poor missing people."

In the disaster area, firefighters went door to door to check the structural stability of the houses damaged by a powerful rainstorm that preceded the mudslides and scoured what's left of toppled homes and mangled cars as they searched for the missing.

"I don't know about you, but I'm scared of Mother Nature right now," Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo told the attendees at the vigil.

Search and rescue operations ended Sunday and authorities transitioned to a search and recovery phase, Brown announced. The move allows officials to release resources that are no longer needed and allow search operations to slow to a safer pace, he said.

The storm sent flash floods cascading through mountain slopes that were burned bare by a huge wildfire in December. Workers used backhoes, jackhammers and chain saws to clear away masses of mud, boulders and toppled trees.

Crews have made it a priority to clear out debris basins and creek canals before another rainstorm. Long-range forecasts gave the crews about a week before the next chance of rain - and potential new mudslides - although the precipitation was expected to be disorganized and light. Another system was possible two days later.

The mudslides on Jan. 9 ravaged the tony community, destroying at least 65 homes and damaging more than 460 others, officials said. They also forced the indefinite shutdown of U.S. 101, the only major freeway between Santa Barbara and points east.

The rest of the community's infrastructure also was damaged. Some streets were cracked in half, and authorities closed bridges and overpasses because they were unstable. Amtrak said it was adding rail cars to each of its five daily roundtrip trains between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to accommodate commuters grappling with the ongoing closure of U.S. 101.

But despite the damage in the neighborhood, Montecito residents still have hope their community will recover.

"They're exhausted but they find ways to try to live life as normally as they can," Williams said.

Sutthithepa, whose body was discovered Saturday, immigrated from Thailand, leaving behind his wife and two children but sending them money for years until he could bring them to the United States, a friend, Poy Sayavongs, told the Lee Central Coast News.

"They finally were able to make it to the states in the summer of 2016," Sayavongs said. "It's cruel - they only had a short time together before this tragedy struck."

A month earlier, the family had evacuated to a Red Cross shelter for a night as a devastating wildfire that went on to blacken nearby mountains threatened their home and many others.

More than 2,000 searchers and recovery workers have remained in the community, carrying out backbreaking work in the summerlike weather that has made the stretch of Santa Barbara County coast about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles a haven for the wealthy, celebrities and tourists.

Much of the community of about 9,000 residents remained under mandatory evacuation orders, even unscathed areas, as crews removed debris and worked to restore water, sanitation, power and gas. There was no timeline for allowing residents to return, Assemblywoman Monique Limon said.

Limon, a Democrat, said she's working with other legislators to address concerns about flood and fire insurance and issues with emergency cellphone alerts.

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

People attend a candlelight vigil in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, to pay tribute to the people who were killed when mudslides ravaged a Southern California. (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo) The Associated Press
People attend a candlelight vigil in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, to pay tribute to the people who were killed when mudslides ravaged a Southern California. (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Capt. John Pepper, Fresno Fire Department, and Rescue Squad Leader RTF-5 searches homes off East Valley Road in Montecito, Calif. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, firefighters search through a Montecito, Calif., home and debris pile. The homes nearby were destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, a man walks near a sailboat that broke free of its mooring and washed ashore at East Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., during Tuesday's storm. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, firefighters search through a Montecito, Calif., home and nearby debris pile. The homes nearby were destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt Adam Estabrook, left, and Engineer Rick Pinal search through a debris pile behind a Montecito, Calif., home. The home was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Firefighters Rick Pinal, left, and Vince Agapito climb through a Montecito, Calif., home that was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Adam Estabrook relocates a gopher snake found lethargic in a cold debris pile behind a Montecito, Calif., home . The home was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Fire Engineer Rick Pinal navigates through a muddy Montecito, Calif., home backyard. The home was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
People attend a candlelight vigil in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, to pay tribute to the people who were killed when mudslides ravaged a Southern California. (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Firefighter Vince Agapito searches through a Montecito, Calif., home that was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County firefighter Vince Agapito climbs through a Montecito, Calif., home that was destroyed by deadly mudflow and debris early Tuesday morning following heavy rainfall. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) The Associated Press
People attend a candlelight vigil in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, to pay tribute to the people who were killed when mudslides ravaged a Southern California. (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo) The Associated Press
This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 shows 25-year-old Morgan Christine Corey, who was among those reported missing from this week's deadly Montecito, Calif., mudslides. Sisters Sawyer Corey, 12, and Morgan Christine Corey, were sleeping when the mud smashed into their home. Sawyer was found dead earlier in the week. Her sister, Morgan's body was found Saturday morning, Jan. 13, 2018, in mud and debris. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office via AP) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.