1,276 people missing after the deadliest forest fire in California | Top news

By Terray Sylvester and Steve Holland

PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) – The number of people missing after California's deadliest and most destructive fire climbed to 1,276 on Saturday, although authorities have located hundreds of people who have dispersed when Camp fire devastated the mountain town of Paradise.

Police forensic teams who examined the charred wreckage found the remains of five other victims, bringing the death toll to at least 76, the authorities said. Sixty-three of them have been identified on an experimental basis, pending confirmation of DNA.

Butte County Sheriff, Kory Honea, said that much of the increase in the number of missing persons was due to his office's efforts to reduce the backlog of appeals. Emergency received during the first hours of the November 8 fire.

He added that officials looked at the list of missing persons to look for duplicates and people who fled. About 380 people have been located and removed from the list since Friday, he said.

"Much progress has been made in this regard, but it is still raw data," Honea said at a news conference.

The sheriff spoke after President Donald Trump's visit to Paradise, the small community that sheltered nearly 27,000 people in the foothills of the Sierra, 280 km north of San Francisco, before being completely consumed by the 'fire.

"No one could have imagined that this would ever happen," Trump told the press in the middle of the charred wreck of the Skyway Villa Mobile Home & RV Park in the city.

"It's very sad to see.As for life, nobody knows it yet," Trump said. "Right now, we want to take care of people who have been so badly injured."

Trump was accompanied by California Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. Brown said the federal government was doing what it needed to do, including supporting first responders and helping clean up and search for victims.

The disaster is already among the deadliest forest fires in the United States since the beginning of the last century. Eighty-seven people perished in the great storm that swept the Northern Rockies in August 1910. The Cloquet fire in Minnesota in October 1918 claimed the lives of 450 people.

Trump blamed the recent wave of fires for the mismanagement of the forest, and said he discussed the issue with Brown and Newsom during their trip to paradise.

When asked if the scenes of devastation had changed his views on climate change, Mr. Trump replied, "No, I have a strong opinion, I want an exceptional climate, we will have that and we will have very safe forests. "

Authorities attribute the high number of fire victims – dubbed "Camp Fire" – in part to the speed at which the flames crossed the city without warning, driven by screaming winds and fueled by scrub and trees dried out by drought.

More than a week later, firefighters were able to carve containment lines around 55% of the perimeter of the fire.

In addition to the loss of life, the material damage caused by the fire has made this fire the most destructive in California's history, posing the additional challenge of providing long-term shelter for thousands of displaced residents.

With more than 12,700 houses and other structures in smoke, many refugees made their homes with their friends and family, while others set up tents or lived in their vehicles.

Hundreds of evacuees were accommodated in 14 emergency shelters in churches, schools and community centers in the region, and more than 46,000 people remained under a court order. evacuation, announced the authorities.

Several shelters are full and although authorities claim that they still have room for everyone, hundreds of people are camping in tents and cars in the surrounding area.

The names were compiled from information received from a special hotline, as well as email reports and a review of 911 emergency calls that were received on the same day. first night of the fire, said Honea.

Some listed probably survived but not yet informed their family or authorities. Others may not have been listed immediately due to delays in reporting.

Honea is bristling at a press conference on Friday, at the request of several of the listed people, more than a week after the disaster, to die or to be declared missing and presumed dead.

"I do not think it's appropriate for anyone of us to sit down and speculate on what the future holds for us," he said.

On Saturday, the sheriff pointed out that authorities relied heavily on public cooperation to determine who was on the missing list.

"I want to tell people that it is really important that you review the list and call us if you are on the list and let us know."

The weather has since turned more and more in favor of firefighters, although strong gusty winds and lower humidity are expected early Sunday before mid-week precipitation forecasts.

The camp's fire coincided with a series of more modest fires in southern California, including the Woolsey fire, linked to three deaths near the Malibu coast, at the end of the day. West of Los Angeles.

Scientists have said that the increasing frequency and intensity of forest fires in California and elsewhere in the West is largely due to a prolonged drought, symptomatic of climate change.

The specific causes of campfires and Woolsey were under consideration, but the electric utilities reported equipment problems around the two fires when they started.

(Terray Sylvester and Steve Holland reports, additional reports by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Brendan O-Brien in Milwaukee and Peter Szekely in New York, edited by Nick Zieminski and Bill Berkrot)

Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.