California fires claim more lives as death toll rises to 76

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press

CHICO, Calif. (AP) – Crews in northern California are tackling the country's deadliest forest fire for a century, preparing for strong winds that could hurt gains they've made to contain the terrible weather. fire, which killed at least 76 people and razed a city.

While hundreds of researchers scour the rubble in the city of Paradise in search of the dead, nearly 1,300 people remain missing more than a week after the start of the fire in Butte County, a announced Saturday evening Sheriff Kory Honea. The authorities pointed out that the long list does not mean that they believe that all these people are missing.

Honea pleaded Saturday for the evacuees fires to review the list of people considered inaccessible by family and friends and call if they are safe. MPs have located hundreds of people so far, but their overall numbers are growing as they add more and more names, including those of the first chaotic hours of the disaster, Honea said.

"It's really very important for you to look at the list and call us if you're on the list," he said.

The remains of five others were found Saturday, including four in the decimated city of Paradise and one in the nearby town of Concow, bringing the death toll to 76.

Among the dead was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son, Jed, told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother was crying in tears: his mother "had an infinite amount of love for me".

President Donald Trump visited the region on Saturday, accompanied by outgoing and incoming governors from California, two Democrats who traded beards with the Republican administration. He also traveled to Southern California, where firefighters were progressing through a forest fire that ravaged communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.

"We have never seen anything like it in California, we have not seen anything like it yet. It's like total devastation, "Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of heaven and pledged all the support of the federal government. The president initially criticized state officials for mismanaging the forests for exacerbating fires and threatened to cut federal funds.

"It has our backs," said outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown, in CBS's "Face the Nation" show Sunday. "There were exchanges between California leaders and the president. But in the face of tragedy, people tend to rise above some of their lesser propensities. So I think we are on the right track. "

Brown also suggested that California's forest fires crack the skeptics, even the most ardent of climate change, "in less than five years" and that those living near forests might need to build underground shelters to protect them from future fires.

Rain was forecast for the middle of the week, which could help firefighters, but also make it difficult to find leftovers. The National Weather Service warned that Sunday the area could suffer sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts of 40 mph, which could make it difficult for crews to continue to progress against the fire.

The campfire in northern California destroyed nearly 10,000 homes and burned 603 square kilometers. It is 55% content.

The fire zone in northern California is to some extent the land of Trump, and this enthusiasm was visible as dozens of people cheered and waved flags as its procession passed.

Kevin Cory, evacuated from a forest fire that lost his home in Paradise, congratulated Trump for going to a state often opposed to the White House.

"I think California was really horrible to him and the fighting. I mean they are suing him, he said. "It's going back and forth between the state and the feds. This is not true. "

But most of the survivors, some of whom had barely fled and had no home, were too busy packing whatever little they had left or asking for help to pay close attention to the president's visit.

Michelle Mack Couch, 49, queued to enter a center of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the city of Chico. She needed a walker for her elderly mother and labels for her car.

"Let's hope he gets help," said Couch, who voted for Trump and whose rental housing was burned down last week. As for taking the time to look at the president, she said ironically, "We do not have a television anymore."

Honea expressed hope that Trump's visit would help recovery, saying the visit of the Republican President and the Democratic leaders of California "marks a spirit of cooperation here that will ultimately benefit this community and lead us on the road to recovery" .

In southern California, Trump also briefly visited an airport hangar where families and first responders were affected by the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks more than a week ago. .

Trump called the shooting in a country music bar, which left 12 dead, "a horrible and horrible event".

Associated press editors Jonathan Lemire in Paradise, California, and Janie Har and Daisy P. Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.