“When the first major storm of the season slammed into the coast Monday, the thundering deluge of mud, car-sized boulders and trees that fell upon Montecito was beyond anything they expected.” The LA Times on the brutal mudslides in Montecito (where up to 43 people are still missing): The same elements that made the Thomas fire such a monster also created deadly debris flows.

+ InFocus: Photos of California’s Deadly Mudslides.