Six of the 21 people killed in the devastating mudslides in Montecito nearly two weeks ago were in voluntary evacuation zones, while 11 others were along the border of the voluntary and mandatory evacuation areas, authorities said Sunday.
Four people who died were swept away from neighborhoods under mandatory evacuation orders, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
The revelations heighten concerns over how authorities decided which neighborhoods to evacuate and how residents were notified about the impending danger.
Two people — 2-year-old Lydia Sutthithepa and 17-year-old John “Jack” Cantin — are still missing. One was in a home on East Valley Road that sits on the border of the two zones, while the other was in a voluntary evacuation area.
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