People Left Homeless After Mudslide Wrecks Camarillo Springs Homes

Camarillo Springs residents have been left homeless after Friday morning's storm caused a devastating mudslide.

At least 16 homes were red-tagged by firefighters, meaning they are unsafe to live in, after just 1.8 inches of rainfall caused a debris flow that left rocks and mud piled up to the roofs of some houses.

The worst affected areas were in San Como Lane, where a mandatory evacuation order was enacted at 2:30 a.m, and Gitana Avenue. One elderly couple had to be persuaded to leave their home due to the danger of the situation. 

Ironically, an earthmover brought in ahead of the storm to help clear post-storm debris was buried as well.

Red Cross workers were going door to door Saturday to offer assistance in the cleanup or to find them a place to clean themselves. The Red Cross shelterin the area closed at 7:30 p.m. Friday night because everyone had found somewhere to go -- all who'd sheltered there during the storm were of retirement age.

Nancy Chalker and her partner Michael Bolding have been made homeless after rocks and mud piled up almost to the roof of their home, which led to it being red-tagged.

"(The mudslide) sounded like a helicopter landed on the roof. It was extremely loud," Chalker said.

"We set her car up so we could sleep in the car because we hadn't slept since the night before, and so we laid there for about an hour. I kind of feel like we are homeless. We are homeless," Bolder added.

And he is worried about the how badly the area is going to be affected by future, especially as heavy rainfall is predicted for next week.

"This is going to continue to happen no matter what." Bolder said.

The neighborhood's trouble was rooted in a fire that erupted nearby along U.S. 101 on May 2, 2013, when a plunge in humidity levels helped flames spread across the west end of the Santa Monica Mountains.

While 2,000 homes were threatened by fire, only 15 sustained damage. However the blaze burned to the beach at Point Mugu, leaving 44 square miles of rugged terrain devoid of protective vegetation.

Melissa Etezadi contributed to this report.

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