Watch: Coast Guard Rescues Family Trapped In California Mudslides

A dramatic video of the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing a family from the roof of a home in Santa Barbara County, California, after mudslides caused devastation in the area went viral Tuesday.

Two San Diego Sector United States Coast Guard helicopter crews flew to the area Tuesday to help in emergency mudslide response and air-lifted the family of five and their pets from their home that was inundated in the deluge.

The video shows members of the guard lowering themselves down to the roof and pulling up the family using a basket. The mother, father, their newborn, seven-year-old son, three-year-old daughter and two dogs were then taken to an emergency staging area where they were evaluated by first responders, Fox 5 reported.

“The first floor of their house was about three, four feet of mud so they were having to wade through. We then didn’t decide to put the basket down in the mud just because we didn’t know what was underneath the mud. So, we decided to hoist them from the roof, but we did have to pull them from the roof in order to hoist them up to the helicopter,” said rescue swimmer Erin Custer.

Search and rescue operations intensified Wednesday in areas like Santa Barbara amid fears that scores of people were trapped in their homes under mud and debris from the mudslides triggered by a heavy downpour early Tuesday, USA Today reported.

The death toll rose to 17 on Wednesday and an estimated 100 homes were destroyed. “We have no idea where they’re at," Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Amber Anderson said talking about the missing people. "We think somewhere in the debris field."

The county Sheriff Bill Brown said the primary focus of first responders was "to evacuate those who are trapped and need help getting out." Hundreds of residents were also under mandatory evacuation orders as of Wednesday.

Several other videos and pictures of the rescue operations and the extent of damage caused by the mudslides were posted on social media. One showed a 14-year-old girl who was trapped for hours being rescued from the rubble of a Montecito home.

Neighborhoods of several celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres also suffered the brunt of the disaster.