Rain threatens and missing California Wildfire search continues | Top news

(Reuters) – Emergency services have resumed their search for the deadliest fire charred wreck ever recorded in California, nearly 1,000 people still missing. A rain in the horizon should help firefighters fight the fire, but complicate efforts to find their victims.

The remains of 77 people have been found, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said on Sunday, reducing the number of missing to 1,276 from 1,276 to 993.

The number of missing persons has fluctuated considerably over the past week, with the rescue teams in the field receiving information. The sheriff's office said the number would continue to increase, as the remains were recovered, more and more missing reports would arrive and the missing would be safe.

The camp fire erupted in northern California on November 8th and almost completely destroyed Paradise, a mountain town of nearly 27,000 residents located about 150 km north of the capital of the United States. State, Sacramento.

Officials said they consumed about 110,000 acres and were forced to 66 percent Monday morning, compared with 65 percent Sunday night, as "firefighters continued to strengthen and improve control lines," the California Department of Forests said. and fire protection.

Patrick Burke, a forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service in Maryland, is expected to receive up to 10 cm of rain north of San Francisco. "This weather system is locked," he said.

Heavy rain could help contain the fire this week.

Authorities indicated that complete confinement was not planned until 30 November.

However, the rain would also make it more difficult for forensic teams to sift the ashes and dirt in search of the bones of the dead.

"The rain will easily disrupt the ground where remains could be found," said Burke of the National Meteorological Service.

Pathologists at the University of Nevada, Reno, worked all weekend as firefighters picked up debris, collected burned bone fragments and photographed anything that could help identify the victims.

Rain could also increase the risk of landslides in areas where fire destroyed all vegetation.

"Although the storm is not exceptionally strong, recent burns make mud slides on hills and slopes very dangerous," Burke said.

The storm, which is expected to be suffering from moderate winds of 15 to 20 mph, could also cause problems for evacuees, hundreds of whom are sheltering in tents and cars.

The number of people in need of shelter is not clear, but no less than 52,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.

Evacuees sleeping in tents at a Walmart car park in Chico, west of paradise, were moved to shelters on Sunday, the site being subject to flooding, local media reports said.

Four hundred miles south of Sacramento near Malibu, at least two inches of rain should fall on a second fire, the Woolsey. We know that three people were killed. The group was confined to 94% Monday morning and had to be fully controlled Thursday at Thanksgiving.

The cause of the two fires is under study, but electric utilities have reported localized equipment problems at the time of their release.

PG & E Corp stated that she could face a liability exceeding her insurance coverage if her equipment had been at the origin of the campfire.

Many schools in the San Francisco area were scheduled to remain closed on Monday due to smoke from the campfire, located about 170 km northeast.

(Report by Rich McKay, written by Nick Carey, edited by John Stonestreet and Steve Orlofsky)

Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.