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(PARADISE, Calif.) – Ernest Foss was a musician who was teaching at his home in San Francisco, where an amplifier along a wall served as a sofa in the family room. Carl Wiley has refurbished tires for Michelin. Jesus Fernandez, nicknamed "Zeus", has been described as a loving father and a faithful friend.
They were among the first victims identified as a result of the deadliest and most destructive fire in the history of California, a hell accused of at least 48 deaths, authorities having sped up looking for more souls on tuesday.
The flames have almost completely destroyed the city of Paradise, located in northern California, which has 27,000 inhabitants, and ravaged its surroundings last Thursday. About 7,700 homes were destroyed.
The exact number of missing persons was unclear, but many friends and relatives of people living in the fire zone said they had no news of their loved ones. Some went to shelters in search of the missing.
Efforts were under way to bring in mobile morgues, dead dogs, a rapid DNA analysis system to identify the victims, as well as 150 additional members of the research and development staff. rescue adding to the 13 teams already looking for remains. surely get up.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea's office identified four of the victims and publicly named three of them.
James Wiley said the sheriff's MPs had informed him that his father, Carl, was among the dead, but the young Wiley had not been able to leave his property in the fire zone to make sure . Elder Wiley, 77, was a tire repairer and the family lived in Alaska for many years before settling in Butte County several decades ago.
James Wiley stated that his father was a stoic veteran and that the two had not spoken for six years. "Hey, I lost it a long time ago," said the young man.
Foss, 63, moved to paradise eight years ago because of the high cost of living driving him out of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to his daughter Angela Loo. He had swollen limbs and could not walk. He had also taken oxygen.
Loo told KTVU-TV in Oakland that his father had taught music at home in San Francisco and turned the living room into a studio.
"I like the fact that he shares his music gift with me and so many others during his life," she said. "We would like him to be remembered for being a Franciscan of San."
Fernandez, a 48-year-old resident of Concow, has also died.
Myrna Pascua, whose husband was the best friend of the man known as "Zeus", called him "a tireless provider, a reliable and loyal friend, a caring neighbor and a loving father. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. "
Five days after the fire, more than 1,000 people were in more than half a dozen shelters set up for the evacuees. At the Chico Ward Church, counselors, chaplains and nursing students from California State University, Chico, were available to help.
Volunteers prepared meals and a large bulletin board contained information about missing persons.
Eddie Lazarom, who fled Paradise on foot before being transported by a UPS truck, was among those staying at the church. He added that he had not yet heard of his three grandchildren, aged 22, 24 and 28 years old.
"I'm really worried about them. I'm sure they have common sense, but I would not like to learn later that they burned, "he said.
Greg Gibson came to the shelter for information about his neighbors. He does not know if they tried to leave or not, but he said the fire exploded so quickly that, if they hesitated, they would have been in trouble.
"It happened so fast. It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice, "Gibson said.
The search for the dead was based on portable devices that could identify a person's genetic material in hours, instead of days or weeks.
"In many circumstances, without fast DNA technology, the process is so long," says Frank DePaolo, deputy commissioner of the New York City Medical Examiner's Office, who is at the forefront of the science of cancer. identification of human remains since 9/11 and explores the possibilities of using a fast DNA device.
Nevertheless, experts said Tuesday that the authorities could first try more traditional methods of identification such as the examination of dental records. This is partly because victims may have had a dental X-ray, but not their personal DNA profile. Medical records of bone fractures, prostheses or implants can also be helpful.
Before the Paradise tragedy, the deadliest fire ever recorded in California was caused by a fire at Griffith Park in Los Angeles in 1933, which killed 29.
At the other end of the state, firefighters have advanced in the face of the fire that killed two people in Malibu and destroyed more than 400 structures in southern California.
The flames returned to life in a mountainous wilderness on Tuesday, sending a huge plume of smoke near the community of Lake Sherwood. Still, the firefighters made gains. The number of evacuees has decreased by about half compared to the previous day, rising to about 100,000, authorities said, and the fire was partially under control.
"We are taking over here. We feel better, "said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.
Governor Jerry Brown said California was "pretty good" to fight several deadly fires, and he expressed gratitude for the help of surrounding states and the federal government. He said that the state was doing everything possible to prevent fires, but that "some things only God can do".
US Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, announced that he had canceled a trip to Asia and that he would visit the fire zones Wednesday and Thursday.
The fire in northern California charred at least 505 square kilometers, but officials said the crews were able to prevent it from progressing to Oroville, a city of about 19,000.
The state recently completed a $ 1.1 billion reconstruction project at the Oroville Dam – the country's highest (235 meters) – and officials were worried about possible fire damage. The weirs of the dam collapsed during the heavy rains of 2017, causing thousands of people to escape for fear of a catastrophic water release.
The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but broke out at about the same place and location. Two utility companies reported equipment problems. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, who took office in January, evaded questions about action against utilities if their power lines are held accountable.
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