The residents of the wealthy and exclusive California enclave are under mandatory evacuation orders. In central California, Search operations for 5-year-old Kyle Doan resumed Tuesday after authorities were forced to discontinue their efforts Monday.
The town of Montecito is under mandatory evacuation orders as violent storms continue to cause massive flooding in parts of California.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey, and Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are just a few of the residents with multimillion-dollar properties in the wealthy enclave, where conditions continue to deteriorate due to heavy rainfall.
DeGeneres shared footage taken at her $14.3 million estate that showed a calm creek that had turned into a raging river due to the storm, noting that she had been told to shelter in place because her property is on higher ground.
In central California, a 5-year-old boy was swept away on his way to school
Search operations for Kyle Doan resumed Tuesday after authorities were forced to discontinue their efforts Monday because of extreme weather conditions, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
"A break in the intense storms is allowing today's search which will involve all available resources of the Sheriff's Office including the USAR (Underwater Search and Rescue) Team and air operations. The conditions, however, remain extremely dangerous. The water level is high and continues to be fast-moving. The public is strongly cautioned not to conduct self-initiated searches and put themselves in harm’s way and become a victim requiring resources that would otherwise be used for searching," the statement read.
The little boy was wearing black puffer jacket with a red liner, blue jeans, blue and gray Nike tennis shoes when he was carried out of his mother's truck that had been stranded in floodwaters about 8 a.m. Monday.
There was no evacuation order in the area at the time. One of Kyle's shoes was discovered by a firefighter. He has not been declared dead.
"Praying for a miracle to surround this sweet child and his family," read one of the many comments post on the sheriff's department's Facebook.
This storm is the latest in a series of deadly downpours to have impacted the state.
"As of Monday afternoon, winter storms have claimed the lives of 14 Californians – more lives than wildfires in the past two years combined," said the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday.
Newsom is planning to visit the region but that could prove to be difficult due to the massive land and mudslides that are making travel all but impossible.
"The only freeway in and out of Montecito is shut down for nearly 25 miles after flood water overtook the road leaving behind mud and debris," reports Inside Edition's Jim Moret, who is on the scene of the deadly storm.
Fallen trees and boulders have also made roads impossible to navigate and resulted in some residents being forced to flee their homes in kayaks.
California has set up shelters throughout the region and is urging all residents to be "hypervigilant," warning that there are still "several days of severe winter weather ahead."
