Everyone in California’s Montecito ordered out amid deluge

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rain-weary Californians grappled with flooding and mudslides Monday as the latest in a series of powerful storms walloped the state, prompting widespread evacuations, toppling trees and frustrating motorists who hit roadblocks caused by fallen debris.

Tens of thousands of people remained without power, and some schools closed for the day. The number of deaths related to the storms climbed from 12 to 14 on Monday, state officials said.

An evacuation order for the entire community of Montecito and surrounding canyons scarred by recent wildfires came on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the coastal enclave.

The National Weather Service reported that at least 20 centimeters of rain fell over 12 hours, with several more inches predicted before the latest storm system moves through an area studded with winding roads and wooded hillsides with large homes. Upscale Montecito is squeezed between mountains and the Pacific and is home to celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.