Deadly rains in Southern California send rivers of mud into homes, trigger fire, flooding

Emergency responders scrambled to attend to calls after some residents failed to heed earlier warnings to leave. Search dogs were also deployed to help find victims cornered inside of their mud-swollen homes.

Some motorists had to be rescued as the mud reached waist high in some pockets, Eliason added. The rescues were done as more than 1,600 people in Santa Barbara County lost power, reported NBC affiliate KSBY.

But the menacing rain had yet to subside.

Related: Mudslide, flood threat prompts evacuations in Southern California

A large swath of the state from San Diego to the Central Valley and east to the Sierra Nevada could see another 1 to 3 inches of rain through Tuesday, The Weather Channel reported. More than 5 inches of rain were collected in the Matilija Canyon rain gauge in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, which issued a flash flood watch for Tuesday after storms rolled in Monday.

Thousands of people in parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties had been ordered to evacuate.

The NWS added that 1-1/2 inches could fall per hour Tuesday in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties — areas already affected by the so-called Thomas Fire last month and other recent wildfires stoked by dry Santa Ana winds.

Even if the steady rain dies down, forecasters said, flash flooding and debris flows will remain a threat for the next several hours.

Multiple rescues were reported Tuesday in California’s Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Police tweeted that the 101 Freeway, a major artery that runs along the coast, was shut down from Sea Cliff in Ventura County to Milpas in Santa Barbara County because of the heavy downpour. Vehicles became trapped partially underwater with people needing to be pulled out, fire officials added.

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