A mudslide shut down the 101 Freeway in Montecito, California, on Tuesday morning as heavy winter rains hit the region devastated by the recent Thomas fire.
Rain began early Monday and is expected to continue on Tuesday, drenching areas below mountains and hills that have been denuded of vegetation that normally prevents soil erosion, and creating a high risk for debris flows.
Thousands were evacuated on Monday from communities below fire-ravaged slopes, and the first signs of damage hit Montecito hard.
“Montecito” was trending on Twitter Tuesday morning — not just in California, but across the United States, as Americans woke up to the news.
Many celebrities have homes in Montecito — including new 2020 Democratic Party presidential prospect Oprah Winfrey.
The Thomas fire set the record for the largest fire in state history. Though the 2017-18 winter has been dry thus far, the ongoing storm has hit the whole state hard, marking San Francisco’s rainiest day since 2014, with 1.84 inches of precipitation, according to SFGate.com.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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