lalo was able to survive by clinging to a tree. during the thomas fire, their home was in a mandatory evacuation zone, and they left, but this time, the evacuation orders for their neighborhood were voluntary. >> i wish they would have made it a mandatory all the way because-- >> reporter: you would have left. >> i would have left. >> reporter: this is all that's left of their home now. lalo says that peter was the kind of guy who would do just about anything for anyone. as far as the evacuation is concerned, the sheriff's office tells us it issued voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders based on the best information it had at the time. jeff. >> glor: carter, thank you. a lot of talk in california right now on this voluntary versus mandatory evacuations. treacherous weather is hitting the eastern third of the country. ice and snow caused a huge pileup on interstate 40 in tennessee. the highway was closed in both directions. heavy snow, ice, and rain are in the mix overnight from the mississippi valley to northern new england. inl

lalo was able to survive by clinging to a tree. during the thomas fire, their home was in a mandatory evacuation zone, and they left, but this time, the evacuation orders for their neighborhood were voluntary. >> i wish they would have made it a mandatory all the way because-- >> reporter: you would have left. >> would have left. >> reporter: this is all that's left of their home now. lalo says the peter was the kind of guy who would do just about anything for anyone. as far as the evacuation is concerned, the sheriff's office tells us it issued voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders based on the best information it had at the time. jeff. >> glor: carter, thank you. a lot of talk in california right now on this voluntary versus mandatory evacuations. treacherous weather is hitting the eastern third of the yi. ice and snow caused a huge pileup on interstate 40 in tennessee. the highway was closed in both directions. heavy snow, ice, and rain are in the mix overnight from the mississippi valley to northern new england. inland area

lalo was able to survive by clinging to a tree. during the thomas fire, their home was in a mandatory evacuation zone, and they left, but this time, the evacuation orders for their neighborhood were voluntary. >> i wish they would have made it a mandatory all the way because-- >> reporter: you would have left. >> would have left. >> reporter: this is all that's left of their home now. lalo says the peter was the kind of guy who would do just about anything for anyone. as far as the evacuation is concerned, the sheriff's office tells us it issued voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders based on the best information it had at the time. a lot of talk in california right now on this voluntary versus mandatory evacuations. treacherous weather is hitting the eastern third of the yi. ice and snow caused a huge pileup on interstate 40 in tennessee. the highway was closed in both directions. heavy snow, ice, and rain are in the mix overnight from the mississippi valley to northern new england. inland areas could get a foot of snow. in syr

. >> reporter: all lalo barajas has left to remember his partner peter fleurat are these mementos he found a half hour from his home. they decided to ride out tuesday's storm. >> the floor felt like it had no support. it was just rolling underneath me. the walls burst open, the mud came in and shot us both out of the house. >> reporter: they were soon pulled in different directions. >> the last thing peter yellled out to me was, lalo, grab on to some wood and don't let go. and that was the last i heard of him. >> reporter: officials say they tried to give people living in the area ample warning, starting the weekend before the storm via e-mails, text messages and phone calls. >> when the storm finally hit the national weather service put out a wia alert which is similar to an amber alert saying flash flooding was imminent. >> reporter: the alert went to the thomas fire area at 2:46 a.m. but santa barbara officials were concerned it didn't reach certain verizon customers. they then issued a countywide alert at 3:51 when the debris flow was already starting. officials answered criticis