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Search Effort In Wake Of January 9th Flooding In Santa Barbara County Downscaled

Officials overseeing search and rescue efforts into the massive flooding in Santa Barbara say they have made the difficult decision to move into what’s known as a search and recovery mode, which means they don’t expect to find additional survivors.

20 people have died, and four are still missing.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says the decision comes after more than 130 hours of search and rescue efforts, and at least two comprehensive searches of each area in the disaster zone. The change in status means that some of the search teams will be released, and while the search efforts will continue, they will be downscaled.

Meanwhile, Caltrans officials say they are making steady progress towards the reopening of Highway 101 in Montecito. Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers says the water has been receding, and they made substantial progress towards removing debris Sunday. Shivers says they hope to announce during the next 24 hours a timeline for 101’s reopening. He says Highway 192 may be closer to reopening, and may allow some limited access between Ventura and Santa Barbara until the 101 reopens.

Tom Fayram, with Santa Barbara County, says the county and the Army Corps of Engineers are moving ahead with efforts to clear 11 debris basins. The projects are considered critical in preparing the area of the next wave of potential rainfall.

Santa Barbara County officials have also announced the development of a interactive website which will help evacuees learn more about the status of homes, and businesses in the disaster zone. County officials say that so far, the website has information on about a third of the structures in the area, and that teams are adding to the survey results daily.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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