Photos: Death toll rises to 18 after Montecito, California, mudslides engulf hundreds of homes

A powerful storm unleashed a torrent of water and mud down the fire-scarred hillsides across Southern California on Tuesday, damaging many homes, shutting down major freeways and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Some of the worst damage was sustained in Santa Barbara County, where the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office said at least 18 people died in the coastal town of Montecito, home to about 9,000 people. The communities of Carpinteria and Summerland were also hit hard.

The death toll reached 18 on Friday after rescuers continued to search damaged homes in the area. Six people remain missing as of Friday evening. At least 100 homes have been destroyed while another 300 are damaged.

Numerous rescue attempts were conducted to free people that were trapped in their homes. At least 50 people were rescued from their rooftops by helicopter, according to the Associated Press.

“It looked like a World War I battlefield,” Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown told the AP. “It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere with huge boulders, rocks, downed trees, power lines, wrecked cars, lots of obstacles and challenges for rescue personnel to get to homes, let alone to get people out of them.”

The heavy rain triggered debris flows and flash flooding in areas hit hard by recent wildfires, including the massive Thomas Fire, which has burned nearly 282,000 acres across Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and is the largest wildfire in state history. The blaze reached 100 percent containment on Friday, Jan.12, over a month after it ignited on Dec. 4.

Local officials urged residents to stay off the roads as large rocks, downed power lines, mud and other debris were strewn onto the roads. At one point, some vehicles were driving in the wrong direction on the U.S. Highway 101, leading to a dangerous traffic situation.

A large stretch of the 101 Freeway is expected to remain closed through Montecito until Thursday night, the California Department of Transportation said. Road closures are still in effect across parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Evacuation orders for residents in burn scar areas were first issued on Sunday by Santa Barbara County officials. Mandatory evacuations were ordered on Monday afternoon for areas impacted by the Creek Fire near Sylmar, as rain moved through the region. In Los Angeles County, an additional 23 homes were evacuated Tuesday in the La Tuna Canyon burn area.

Emergency management officials said most of Montecito will be without potable water, natural gas, electricity and sanitation for an extended period of time.

As cleanup efforts get underway, drier weather is expected through the end of the week in the region as storms move into the Pacific Northwest.

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