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A heavy downpour on Friday night caused a mudslide in a Camarillo Springs neighborhood, prompting firefighters to rescue a man trapped inside of his own home.
The slide happened around 11:30 p.m. on the 6400 block of San Como Lane. Only one home appeared to have been heavily damaged by the slide, but Ventura County Fire Department officials ordered residents out of 11 homes around 12:30 a.m. this morning, according to ABC 7. The evacuation order was lifted at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning after a geologist determined that the cause of the mudslide was a backed-up storm drain.
Ventura County firefighters responded to a call last night from a woman who said the rain had been flooding her home, but while en route she called back to report that mud had gotten into her house and that her husband had gone missing. When firefighters arrived, her husband was trapped in waist-deep mud and rescuers had to use chainsaws to cut open to front door to get him out.
"We sent a lot of people up here, took a look at the house which was completely surrounded and full of mud by the time we got here," Captain Mike Lindbery of the VCFD told KTLA.
"He was buried up to his waist, unable to move. Took chainsaws, got in there, cut the door out and we were able to dig him out and get him out," Lindbery said of the rescue. Linbery tweeted this morning that the man saw his living room furniture float by him before the mud trapped him inside his own house.
Unfortunately, their family dog, a dachshund, was killed by the mudslide. Its body has yet to be recovered.
Ultimately, that home was red-tagged with another reported to have received minor damage.
The mudslide affected an area that was hit by the Springs Fire in May of 2013. Burned areas are susceptible to flooding and mudslides during heavy rains.
KTLA's Mark Mester tweeted photos of the damage from last night and this morning:
Mud and boulders cover a road in Camarillo Springs after late night mudslide. @KTLA pic.twitter.com/KVbD3a2Na4
— mark mester (@mester_mark) November 1, 2014
Mud is covering parts of the 9th hole at Camarillo Springs. Apparently from last night's mudslide. @KTLA pic.twitter.com/dCHzEsCXGE
— mark mester (@mester_mark) November 1, 2014
Path of mudflow down drainage. pic.twitter.com/qv6Fs4OfBG
— mark mester (@mester_mark) November 1, 2014
