A 14-year-old girl was one of several people rescued by firefighters who fanned out across a flood-ravaged Santa Barbara County community after a night of powerful downpours and mudslides.
The girl was trapped for hours in the home, destroyed by mud and debris flows that were powerful enough to move boulders, fire officials said. Firefighters slogged through deep mud to pull 14-year-old Lauren Cantin, covered in mud and taken away on a stretcher, from the rubble.
It was a moment to cherish in what was a devastating day for the community northwest of Los Angeles, where at least eight people were killed in the first major storm of the season in Southern California.