Latest News: N. California Wildfire's Death Toll Now 84 | California News



[ad_1]

The Associated Press

Mick Zalis oversees the preparations for a Thanksgiving dinner for those displaced by the Northern California campfire on the campus of California State University in Chico, California on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. Zalis is Volunteer for World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization that teams up with companies located near the city of Paradise, California, to provide thousands of meals on Thursday. (AP Photo / Kathleen Ronayne) The Associated Press

CHICO, California (AP) – Latest news on California wildfires (local time):

Authorities say that there was another fatality in the camp fire, bringing to 84 the death toll.

They also say that the fire is 95% controlled. The fire that began on November 8 leveled Paradise, destroying more than 13,000 homes.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office says there are more than 560 names on the missing list.

The authorities pointed out that many of the people on the list could be safe and not know that they have been reported missing.

Paradise is about 140 miles north of San Francisco

People who lost their homes in the deadly fire that destroyed paradise paradise fill their plates with turkey and pie during a Thanksgiving community meal.

Patty Rough says that she and her husband, Chuck, would normally house their family at their home in Paradise.

But on Thursday, she reunited her son, daughter, future son-in-law and two grandchildren at California State University in Chico, where 15,000 meals were served.

Hard torn when she called the party "bitter-sweet".

Eduardo Garcia also had a hot meal. The construction worker says that he helped build the campus auditorium where meals were provided.

The house he shared with a friend burned and he says he's trying to "give her a nice face instead of being sad".

The rain prevents the teams from searching for the remains of people in the rubble left behind by the devastating fire that destroyed Paradise.

Richard Ventura, of the FEMA's urban search and rescue team from Orange County, said Thursday that the rainy, windy and cold conditions made the search process "miserable".

His team has 27 people involved in the effort.

Ventura says the rain "pulls things together" while making the ground soaking wet and harder to see and move.

According to Ventura, the workers are soaked and try to keep their socks dry to avoid hypothermia.

The Orange County team is one of eight FEMA intervention teams in California that are involved in disaster recovery.

Fire officials said the rain was contributing to the fight against the deadliest in California over the last century.

The California Department of Forests and Fire Protection announced Thursday that the fire that razed Paradise is 90% under control two weeks after the start of Paradise's activities.

The fire was under control at 80% Wednesday before the arrival of the first of three storm systems in the area where at least 83 people perished in the fire.

The first storm continued and another is expected later Thursday, raising concerns about landslides and other problems.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said more than 800 people would search the rubble for human remains during Thanksgiving Day.

Thousands of people displaced by the fire will spend their holidays with their families in the region or with strangers who will open their homes for dinners prepared by non-profit groups.

Thousands of residents who lost their homes or loved ones in a forest fire in northern California will spend Thanksgiving in unexpected situations and with unknown faces.

World Central Kitchen, a non-profit association, is partnering with businesses located near the city of Paradise to provide 15,000 meals Thursday. And dozens of people open their homes to share dinner with strangers who have lost everything.

Other people who have fled the deadly fire spend their holidays with their family nearby.

The fire caught fire on November 8 and devastated Paradise and the surrounding communities. It killed at least 83 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes. Thousands of people remain evacuated.

Paradise Mayor Jody Jones said the meals taken in the community would be "a break from the hectic activities of trying to rebuild our lives and our city again."

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.

[ad_2]
Source link