The massive wildfires that scorched parts of Southern California last month left hillsides devoid of vegetation and covered with ash and a dried-out layer of topsoil. On Tuesday, heavy rains fell north of Los Angeles, turning many of these hillsides into torrents of mud and boulders that destroyed dozens of homes and damaged hundreds more. At the moment, 17 deaths have been reported, as search and rescue teams are looking for eight missing people, who may still be trapped inside their homes.
Photos of California's Deadly Mudslides
- Alan Taylor
- January 11, 2018
- 27 Photos
- In Focus
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Mud fills the interior of a car destroyed in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California, on January 9, 2018. #
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty -
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A home on Glen Oaks Road damaged by mudslides in Montecito, California, on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
Emergency personnel carry a woman rescued from a collapsed house after a mudslide in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
Emergency personnel carry a man covered in mud after a mudslide in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
A semi-tractor trailer sits stuck in mud on U.S. Highway 101 in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP -
Montecito firefighters walk on a road damaged by mudslides on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
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Emergency personnel evacuate local residents and their dogs through floodwaters in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
A car and debris lie smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Daniel Dreifuss / AP -
A car in a damaged garage is covered in mud and debris caused by a massive mudslide in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty -
Rain clouds are seen over downtown Los Angeles on January 9, 2018. #
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters -
A bulldozer scoops mud from Highway 101 in Carpinteria, California,on January 9, 2018. #
Michael Owen Baker / AP -
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A Cal Fire inmate crew rests while looking for survivors of a massive mudflow in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty -
A bulldozer moves debris as a vehicle sits stranded in floodwater on U.S. Highway 101 in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP -
A search dog looks for victims in damaged homes after a mudslide in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department / Reuters -
A large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito, following the rainstorm on January 9, 2018. #
Michael Owen Baker / AP -
The wreckage of two cars that tumbled down Montecito Creek to the beach by floodwaters, photographed on January 10, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP -
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A home on Glen Oaks Road damaged by mudslides in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
Family members inspect the inside of a home covered in mud following the mudslides in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department / Reuters -
Emergency personnel search through debris and damaged homes in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department / Reuters -
A structure sits smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Daniel Dreifuss / AP -
The Montecito Inn sits in floodwater and debris after a mudslide in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
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Ventura Search & Rescue volunteers (in orange) listen to a briefing from a Ventura County firefighter on Glen Oaks Road in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
A cadaver dog searches for bodies with rescue officials in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
A kitchen in a home on Glen Oaks Road damaged by mudslides in Montecito, photographed on January 10, 2018. #
Kenneth Song / Santa Barbara News-Press via Reuters -
A Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit helicopter flies under a rainbow while on a rescue mission in Montecito on January 9, 2018. #
Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP -
A damaged car sits among debris under downed power lines in Montecito on January 10, 2018. #
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP -
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Carpinteria resident Jeff Gallup carries his bike through mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria, California on January 9, 2018. #
Michael Owen Baker / AP
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