MONTECITO, Calif. — Most residents of mudslide-ravaged Montecito were under orders to clear out Friday as the search for victims dragged on and crews labored to repair power, water and gas lines as well as clean up massive debris.

Even those who didn’t lose their homes in the disaster that left at least 18 people dead were told to leave for up to two weeks so they wouldn’t interfere with the rescue and recovery operation.

Emergency crew members search an area near houses damaged by storms in Montecito, Calif., on Friday. Associated Press/Marcio Jose Sanchez

It was another frustrating turn for those living in the Southern California town that has been subject to repeated evacuation orders in recent weeks, first because of a monster wildfire last month, then because of downpours and mudslides.

Cia Monroe said her family was lucky their home wasn’t ruined and they were all healthy and safe, although her daughter lost one of her best friends.

But Monroe said it was stressful after evacuating three times during the wildfire to be packing up a fourth time and looking at spending up to $3,000 a week for a hotel.

“Where do you go when you’re a family of four and you don’t have a second house?” Monroe asked, noting that some residents of the town have third and fourth homes. “Financially that’s a burden.”

More than 1,200 workers had flooded into the town of about 9,000 residents for the search and cleanup effort.

The presence of curious and concerned citizens who had trudged through the mud Thursday to view the devastation was replaced with more firefighters in bright yellow rain gear and utility crews in orange safety vests working with chain saws and jackhammers.

A backhoe scooped up mud and rocks around buckled and flattened homes, while bulldozers cleared roads of tangled trees, muck and boulders.

Tanker trucks were also being used to haul away floodwaters siphoned off U.S. Highway 101, the crippled coastal route connecting Santa Barbara to Ventura.

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