Fires in California: More than 100 people go missing at Camp Fire, sheriff's office says

The camp fire has killed at least 48 people since its start last week, and the Butte County Sheriff and coroner Kory L. Honea said they expect more bodies to be found.

"I want to tell you, however, that it is a very, very difficult process," Honea told reporters on Tuesday. "There is certainly the unfortunate possibility that even after we have searched an area, once we have brought people back, it is possible that human remains are found."

Authorities have asked for 100 National Guard soldiers to join dead dogs, mobile morgues and anthropology teams in search and recovery of human remains.

In Southern California, firefighters are still fighting the Woolsey fire, which has killed at least two people in Malibu. The authorities are trying to determine if a third person, found dead in a burned house in Agoura Hills, has died as a result of the fire, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Fire officials said the Sierra fire was stoked by the winds of Santa Ana – Strong, dry winds from high pressure systems from east to west, mountains and desert areas into the Los Angeles area.

The winds will be "particularly strong" on Wednesday morning but are expected to weaken by evening, the national meteorological service announced.

In northern California, forecasters have announced that the winds fueling the camp fire will begin to slowly decline on Wednesday and give the firefighters a break.

Residents desperate to return

For hours, Carmen Smith waited Tuesday at a roadblock outside Paradise, hoping that someone would help her get home and recover her husband's medication.

Smith and others wonder when they can go back home to get drugs and clothes or just to check the damage.

"I do not know what to do here," Charles told KCRA. "I have to take that stuff out of the house."

Some residents have returned to what remains of their ravaged homes, but many have not. Authorities say power lines, broken gas pipelines and bad roads could put them at risk.

California Highway Patrol Chief Brent Newman has asked the public to be patient as the teams clear the affected areas.

"It's not a safe environment," he said.

Authorities said they still did not know when residents could get closer to home.

In Southern California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff expressed empathy for residents waiting to find the remains of the few hundred homes destroyed by the Woolsey fire.

He took a helicopter tour of the burned areas and posted aerial photos of the destruction on Twitter.

"We see the frustration of people trying to return home and appreciate their cooperation," Sheriff Jim McDonnell wrote.

A look at the amazing numbers of forest fires

• Increase in the number of deaths: There have been 50 deaths throughout the state, the vast majority of which are in northern California. Woolsey Fire, in southern California, killed two people.

• A devastating week for the Golden State: More than 230,000 acres burned in California last week. It's bigger than the cities of Chicago and Boston combined. And in 30 days, firefighters fought over 500 fires, said Cal Fire, the state's forest protection and fire protection agency.

A man used a pipe to save his heavenly home

Brad Weldon grabbed a watering hose when the camp's fire approached his house last week, spraying water to keep away the flames and protect her elderly and disabled mother.

He had stayed in paradise with his 89-year-old mother, blind and unwilling to leave.

"There were times when we lay on the ground pouring water on us, so we did not burn it," Weldon, 62, recalled.

The water up to the pipe lasted four hours, and unlike many in the northern California city, Weldon, his family, and his home survived almost unscathed.

The house is remarkably unscathed, with the exception of a few burns at the bottom of a work shed.

"It feels good to have it, I feel so sad for everyone, everyone I know has lost everything," he said, crying for his neighbors.

Electricity companies report problems before fires

But the public service said "at the moment, we have no indication from the staff of the fire safety agency that SCE public service facilities could have been involved in the beginning of the fire . "

Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced

More than 300,000 people were forced to leave their homes throughout the state. Most live in Los Angeles County, where 170,000 people have been evacuated.

Thomas Hirsch was searching the burnt remains of his childhood home on Tuesday in Malibu, looking for something recoverable. His parents, aged 97 and 94, still live in this city and plan to rebuild, he said.

"We are survivors, we will rebuild, we will come back and take the little insurance money that they have, we will clean it, rebuild it and make it more pleasant than it is." it was before, "he told CNN.

More than 9,000 firefighters are battling forest fires across California, including many foreigners.

Cal Fire tweeted a map showing all the states from which firefighters come, including Alaska, Indiana and Georgia.

"Cal Fire wants to recognize the many external partners who have united to fight these forest fires," said the agency.

Correction: This story has been updated to give the correct age of Brad Weldon's mother.