According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, another 13 people are still missing, as mudslides continue to wreak havoc in the Golden State.
As of early Wednesday, 300 people were trapped by debris blocking their way out of Montecito's Romero Canyon area.
"We can't get to them, and they can't get to us," Yaneris Muniz, spokesperson for Santa Barbara County, said in a statement. Authorities have deployed helicopters to reach stranded residents.
The mudslides came weeks after the Thomas and La Tuna fires ravaged California's communities, prompting "dozens and dozens" of rescues, ABC News reported.
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 10, 2018
The mudslides began around 2:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday after the region was hit with heavy rains, which dislodged boulders and set off a heavy mudflow, the LA Times reported.
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) January 10, 2018
On Tuesday, Brown told reporters that the scenes "looked like a World War I battlefield."
