Officials Lift Evacuation Orders For Parts Of Montecito
MONTECITO (CBSLA) -- For the first time since devastating mudslides tore through Montecito nearly two weeks ago, a number of people have been given the green light to return home.
"This is the first time coming back here, and obviously, as you can see, there's really no way we can come back to this," one Montecito resident said to CBS2's Amy Johnson. "It's horrible, it's sad, but the good thing is we're still alive."
Many of the residents who have been permitted to return to their neighborhoods are finding the condition of their homes to be unlivable.
"It's been difficult," said another resident whose home sustained a great deal of damage. "We've been living in [our] house since 1980."
With the partial evacuation lifted, businesses in the area were able to open their doors again for the first time in weeks.
"We were in mud up to our knees," said an employee who works at a clothing boutique in the area. "We were able to get it cleaned up relatively fast. We were lucky we didn't have any permanent damage."
For a full list of areas with lifted evacuation orders, please see the list below or visit www.CountyofSB.org.
The Voluntary Evacuation Warning will be lifted for the following area of Montecito:
-North of U.S. 101
-West of Olive Mill Road/Mesa Road/Oak Road
-South of Hot Springs Road/Sycamore Canyon Road
-East of Eucalyptus Hilld Road/El Rancho Road/Camino Viejo Road/Summit Road/Hot Springs Road
The Mandatory Evacuation Order will be lifted for the following area of Montecito:
-Ayala Lane
-Ashley Road north of Sycamore Canyon Road to the 700 block of Ashley Road
-East of Cold Spring Road
-South of E. Mountain Drive to the 800 block of E. Mountain Drive
The area east of the area described above remains under a Mandatory Evacuation Order.