Trees Washed Ashore After The Montecito Mudslides Of 2018, 2. Stock Image

The California wide fire season of 2017 had been one of the worst, up still that point. With the forests now gone, once the rains started, there was nothing left to absorb the waters quickly enough, and the areas downstream became inundated not with water, but with the mud and ensuing debris. The town of Carpinteria, about eight miles from Montecito, had a lot of young trees wash up on the beach near the tar pits.