Pasadena Firefighters Return After Eight Days Assisting Relief Efforts Following Devastating Montecito Mudslides

A team of Pasadena firefighters safely returned home Wednesday afternoon after eight days in Santa Barbara County assisting in search and rescue operations following devastating mudslides in the region.

“Our mission was to do search and rescue of any civilians that were still missing and unaccounted for,” said Pasadena Fire Department Captain Robert Sepulveda Jr. “I have never seen anything like this, and I believe that the state hasn’t seen anything like this.”

The firefighters are members of the Regional Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (US&R) which is comprised of 30 people who are specially trained and equipped for large or complex operations.

The multi-disciplinary organization provides five functional elements that include Supervision, Search, Rescue, Medical, and Tool/Equipment Support, according to a press release.

The task force involves the location, rescue, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces.

According to Sepulveda, the team worked twelve hour operations and we were dealing with severe hazards such as heavy mud flows, debris, and all utilities including gas, electricity, water, and sewage which were wiped out during the storm.

“We also had hazards such as pools that were covered entirely with mud,” explained Sepulveda about the pools they referred to as pie-crust pools. “We had potential of falling down ten to fifteen feet into a sewer drain,” Sepulveda added about abandoned sewage manhole doors that posed as falling risks.

Sepulveda recalls the force of the raging mudslides first-hand.

“Many vehicles got tossed like toys,” Sepulveda described. “Vehicles and houses went from the base of the mountain in Montecito all the way down to the Pacific Ocean,” Sepulveda added.

Unforgiving terrain and deep mud made it difficult for the team whose search and rescue operations required heavy duty tools such as fire engines and utility task vehicles.

“There was a lot of poison oak in the area and many, many damaged structures from mud from three feet up all the way to the top of the roofs on certain areas,” said Sepulveda.

The team, which arrived safely in Pasadena, is reminded of the people who lost their homes and for some–even their lives.

“We’re all excited to go home back to our families but we’re also keeping our thoughts and prayers in our mind from our team to the affected area in Montecito, Carpenteria and the whole Santa Barbara area,” said Sepulveda.