At least 42 deaths recorded in California's deadliest fire

PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) – Research teams found the remains of 42 people killed by a massive fire that cremated the city of Paradise in northern California, marking the largest number of victims of an incendiary fire in the history of the state, authorities announced Monday.

Sheriff Kory Honea, Butte County Sheriff, announced the latest death toll at an evening press conference in the nearby town of Chico, after the authorities found the bodies of 13 other victims of the devastating fire nicknamed the campfire.

The fire was already ranked as the most destructive ever in California in terms of property losses, having consumed more than 7,100 homes and other structures since their start Thursday in the foothills of the Butte County Sierra, at about 280 km north of San Francisco.

Honea said that 228 people were officially missing in the disaster, but added that his office had received requests to check the well-being of more than 1,500 people who had not been heard by their relatives. Of those cases, 231 people were safe, he said.

However, the authorities indicated that they were preparing to deal with the number of deaths.

In addition to 13 recovery teams led by coroners working in the fire zone, 150 search and recovery personnel were scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, Honea said.

(GRAPHIC: Fatal Fires in California: tmsnrt.rs/2Multiple)

The sheriff also asked the US military for three mobile morgue teams, a "mortuary" crew, and an undetermined number of dead dog units to help search for human remains. Three groups of forensic anthropologists have also been called upon to help, he said.

Most of the destruction and loss of life occurred in and around the city of Paradise, where the flames burned most buildings to ashes and rubble on Thursday night, barely a few hours into the night. 'fire. Some 52,000 people are still under evacuation orders, the sheriff said.

The 42 confirmed deaths represent the largest number of deaths in the history of a single forest fire in California, said Honea, surpassing by far the previous record of 29 lives lost in 1933 in the United States. Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles.

Authorities reported that two more people died during the weekend in a separate fire, called the Woolsey Fire, which destroyed 435 structures and displaced about 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near the Malibu coast. in southern California, west of Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump, who drew criticism this weekend for falsely blaming fires for "mismanagement" of forests, on Monday approved a request from California Governor Jerry Brown to make a statement major disaster. The measure speeds up the availability of federal emergency assistance to fire-hit areas of the state.

The fires have spread with uneven intensity, which has put severe stress on firefighting resources while surprising many residents.

The bodies of some of the camp's fire victims were found in the burned wreckage of vehicles invaded by firing walls as the evacuees were trying to escape. They were, however, trapped by deadly knots in traffic on Thursday night.

"It was very scary," said Mayor Jody Jones following the family's difficult escape as the fire raged around them.

"It took a long time to get out. There was fire on both sides of the car. You could feel the heat coming in the car, "she told CNN. Jones said his family was now living in their mobile home parked on a vacant lot.

The camp fire Monday threatened more than 15,000 structures in an area so thick with smoke that visibility was reduced to less than one kilometer in some places.

BACK TO HIGH WINDS

The perilous winds that fanned the fire through drought-dried scrub and chaparral subsided on Saturday, giving firefighters a chance to gain ground against the flames.

The strong winds returned on Sunday but fell again on Monday morning as teams managed to draw containment lines around 30% of the campfire perimeter, an area encompassing 117,000 acres of burnt and smoldering land.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), the Woolsey Fire has blackened nearly 94,000 acres and was also limited to 30% Monday night.

Winds up to 64 km / h are expected to continue in southern California until Tuesday, increasing the risk of fresh flames ignited by scattered embers. CalFire said that 57,000 structures were still in danger after the Woolsey fire.

The weather forecast is for Monday night winds to resume in Butte County, albeit with less force than in previous days, National Meteorological Service meteorologist Aviva Braun told reporters.

Nearly 9,000 firefighters, many from countries, were fighting to suppress the campfire, the Woolsey fire and a handful of smaller outbreaks in southern California, backed by squadrons of helicopters dropping the waters and tankers.

Some evacuees from Malibu, a seaside community whose residents have a number of Hollywood celebrities, were allowed to return home but found themselves without electricity or cell phones.

California has experienced two of the worst wildfire seasons in its history in the last two years, a situation that experts attribute largely to the prolonged drought in most of the western United States.

Forty-six people died in a gust of wind-blown fires that swept the northern California wine region last October, destroying some 8,900 homes and other buildings. The worst of these fires, dubbed the Tubbs fire, was blamed for 22 deaths.