Mudslides and Flooding Kill at Least 13 in California

Mudslides and Flooding Kill at Least 13 in California
Boulders block a road after a mudslide in Montecito, California, U.S. in this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Jan. 9, 2018. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department/Handout via Reuters
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LOS ANGELES–At least 13 people died and thousands fled from their homes in Southern California on Tuesday as a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides on slopes where a series of intense wildfires burned off protective vegetation last month.

Heavy downpours struck before dawn on Tuesday after thousands of residents in Santa Barbara County along the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles were ordered to evacuate. But only 10 to 15 percent complied with mandatory orders, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Fire Department.