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The number of people who are still missing as a result of two ferocious wildfires burning at both ends of California for more than a week climbed to nearly 1,300 Saturday night.
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The two monstrous flames that ignited last week cost the lives of 79 people while they were destroying a total area of nearly 400 square miles, according to the Department of Forests and Fire Protection. from California. Officials said that 63 remains have been positively identified so far.
A large majority of deaths are due to a campfire in Butte County, northern California, making it the deadliest and most destructive forest fire in the history of northern Ontario. ;State.
The number of missing or missing people in Butte County rose to 1,011 on Friday and 1276 late Saturday, although these numbers may continue to fluctuate as authorities look for names on the list, according to Sheriff Kory Honea of Butte County.
President Donald Trump arrived in California on Sunday to monitor the damage and meet the firefighters, alongside California Governor Jerry Brown and state-elected Governor Gavin Newsom.
Soel Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
Meanwhile, smoke from the flames crossed the Golden State and strangled the air in major cities, including San Francisco. The authorities advised residents of the affected areas to stay inside and wear a protective mask on the outside.
The National Weather Service issued a warning for California every Sunday, signaling that the drop in humidity and wind gusts could reach 40 mph in the campfire area.
Noah Berger / APCampfire in Northern California
The campfire was declared on November 8 near Pulga, a small community in Butte County nestled in the Plumas National Forest. The fire exploded as fierce winds fanned the flames to the southwest, enveloping the town of Paradise, a bucolic community of 27,000 at the foot of Sierra Nevada.
The fire has virtually decimated the entire city.
Melissa Schuster, a member of Paradise City Council, said her house was one of the houses burned down by the campfire.
"Our five-member board is homeless," Schuster said in an interview on Nov. 13 in ABC News's "Start Here" podcast. "All our houses have been destroyed."
Noah Berger / AP
The camp's fire toll rose to 76 today, after officials discovered other bodies in the rubble and cars burned, according to the Butte County Sheriff, who said warned that the remains of some of the missing may never be recovered due to the severity of the fire.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the campfire burned more than 149,000 acres on Saturday night and destroyed nearly 13,000 structures.
Thom Porter, head of strategic planning for the California Department of Forests and Fire Protection, said the death toll should increase as research teams continue to scrutinize the destruction.
"It's by far the most lethal fire in California's history and it's going to unfortunately get worse," Porter said of Camp Fire.
Most of the deaths occurred in paradise.
"The whole community of Paradise is a toxic wasteland at the present time," said Schuster, retaining her tears. "On top of that, and this is the hardest part for me to talk about, the death toll is [among] things we do not know right now that need to be determined before people can go home. "
John Locher / AP
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the camp fire, which burned a total of 150,000 hectares in Butte County, was under control by 55 percent on Saturday night. , while thousands of exhausted firefighters work tirelessly to master hell.
Two firefighters detained were among the three firefighters wounded during the camp's fire, officials told ABC News.
Earlier this week, Governor Brown visited the devastation caused by the camp fire with Brock Long, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator, and US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.
"It's one of the worst disasters of my career that I know, hands down," Long told reporters on site Wednesday.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times / PolarisThe Woolsey Fire in Southern California
The Woolsey fire also caught fire on November 8 near the town of Simi Valley in Ventura County and quickly spread south to Los Angeles County. The wind-blown flames leapt onto Highway 101 before sweeping the famous Malibu and Calabasas enclaves.
The entire town of Malibu and a sprawling naval base near the seaside town of Oxnard were among the areas subject to mandatory evacuation orders, officials cautioning that the fire could potentially occur. extend to the Pacific Ocean.
Gene Blevins / Reuters
Evacuation orders have since been lifted in some areas, including parts of Malibu, as firefighters have reached confinement levels.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Woolsey Fire, which destroyed 98,362 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, has contained up to 82 % of costs until Saturday morning.
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images
But more than 900 structures have already been damaged or destroyed, including many homes and a legendary movie set in Hollywood.
The fire destroyed part of the Paramount Ranch at Agoura Hills, nicknamed "Western Town," where hundreds of movies and television shows, including "Westworld" from HBO, have been filmed since the 1920s.
At least three people were killed in the Woolsey fire and three firefighters were injured when fighting the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
David McNew / AFP / Getty ImagesA public health emergency
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar has declared a public health emergency in California, where fires forced the evacuation of at least two hospitals and eight other health facilities.
"We are working closely with state health authorities and monitoring the needs of health facilities to provide everything they need to save lives and protect health," Azar said in a statement released on Wednesday. "This statement will help ensure that Americans who are threatened by these dangerous fires and who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Plan have ongoing access to the care they need."
Smoke advisories have been issued for the affected area, fearing that the smoke from fires presents a "significant threat to the health" of people with asthma and other lung diseases, according to the US Department of Health. health and social services. Residents were urged to stay as much as possible indoors and wear a snug mask when they ventured out.
NASA Worldview / EPA via Shutterstock
Berkeley Earth, a California-based non-profit organization that analyzes real-time air quality, ranked San Francisco, Stockton and Sacramento among the world's three "most polluted cities" on Friday morning.
National Meteorological Meteorologist Aviva Braun told reporters that light winds contributed to poor air quality, but on Saturday, stronger northeasterly winds in the valley are expected to help improve air quality. weather situation.
Meanwhile, an outbreak of norovirus has been reported in a shelter in Butte County, where the evacuees are, according to Lisa Almaguer, information officer for the Butte County Public Health Department.
People who are sick at the shelter have been taken to a separate place, use separate toilets and are treated by public health experts, according to Almaguer, who said the presence of the contagious virus was "not uncommon", particularly in this time of the year and "with hundreds of people living nearby".
ABC News & # 39; Karine Hafuta, Marilyn Heck and Bonnie McLean contributed to this report
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