While HELOCs are recourse, to get recourse the lender has to pursue a judicial foreclosure. Not something likely to happen in California. Once the trustee sale happen it wipes out everything. So unless the HELOC buys out the first and judicial forecloses on the house.. they have no recourse. From a practical point of view, high LTV HELOCs in a declining market in California are non-recourse.
