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California Today

California Today: What You Need to Know About the Mudslides

Debris and mud covered parts of the 101 freeway in Montecito, Calif., on Tuesday.Credit...Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department, via Associated Press

Good morning.

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Mudslides wreaked havoc in Southern California Tuesday amid intense rainfall across the state, demolishing homes in Santa Barbara County and killing at least 15 people. Just weeks ago, many of those areas hardest hit by mudslides were battling wildfires.

Firefighters waded through debris, over piles of fallen trees and around displaced boulders in the aftermath of the storm, scouring for survivors after several homes were swept away. In one dramatic rescue, the Santa Barbara fire department pulled a 14-year-old girl from the remains of her destroyed home in Montecito. In another instance, a boy was found under a freeway overpass and rescued by firefighters; mud had carried him for hundreds of yards.

[Follow The Times’ reporting here.]

As rain pounded down, parts of the 101 Freeway were flooded by water from the overflowing Montecito Creek.

“This is not a river. This is the 101 freeway in my neighborhood right now. Montecito needs your love and support,” the comedian Ellen DeGeneres tweeted.

More coverage:

• The search for victims in Montecito will continue Wednesday with more search and rescue teams joining the effort.

• Several homeless people were rescued in Sacramento as water rose around them beneath a highway overpass.

• In Montecito, the chief executive of a disaster relief charity finds disaster right in his back yard for the second time.

• Dispatch: A family returns to their home in Carpinteria after evacuating amid warnings.

• The Sacramento Bee writes that the storm set a rainfall record in the Sacramento region.

• The San Francisco Chronicle reports the rainstorm produced one of the rainiest days in San Francisco history, causing car crashes and transit delays.

(Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.)

• The former Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes announced the formation of an initiative to reshape the state party around “pragmatic conservative” ideas. [The Sacramento Bee]

• A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

• Senator Dianne Feinstein published transcripts of an interview the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted with the firm involved in compiling a controversial dossier about President Trump. [The New York Times]

• One in 10 California prison guards has attempted suicide, according to a study. [The Associated Press]

• Two Democratic lawmakers are requesting $10 million in state funds for a legal-defense fund that would help Salvadorans at risk of being deported, after the Trump administration announced it would end their temporary legal status. [Los Angeles Times]

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The capitol building in Sacramento, Calif.Credit...Deanne Fitzmaurice for The New York Times

• During last year’s Oroville Dam crisis, a report shows officials with the Department of Water Resources second-guessed dumping water for fear they would not be able to deliver water to faraway water districts. [The Sacramento Bee]

• Public health officials in California are urging state residents to get a flu vaccine amid an intensifying flu season. [The Mercury News]

• A study says that the bed bug problem in Los Angeles is even worse than in New York. [Patch Media]

• Eight people filed to run for mayor in San Francisco before Tuesday’s filing deadline. [SFGate]

Jon Gruden was introduced as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders at the team’s headquarters on Tuesday, making his official return to the team. [The East Bay Times]

The Montecito community in Santa Barbara County took a heavy beating Tuesday. Below are a few striking photos from the mudslides.

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Emergency workers searched through debris and damaged homes in Montecito.Credit...Santa Barbara County Fire Department
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The 300 block of Hot Springs Road in Montecito, Calif., on Tuesday, following debris and mud flow due to heavy rain.Credit...Santa Barbara County Fire Department
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Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters worked amidst flood waters and mud during heavy rains in Sun Valley, Cali., on Tuesday.Credit...Andrew Gombert/European Pressphoto Agency

California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

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