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While the death toll continues to grow in the deadliest fire in California's history, the sheriff of Northern California County, where the fire is still raging, said Friday that more than 1,000 people were still missing, a surprising increase over the previous lists.
The fire that ravaged the city of Paradise and its environs on November 8 had confirmed the death of 71 people. About 500 specialists and more than 20 dead dogs painted the hills and gullies cremated in the wooded community during human remains.
The new list of missing persons, which even stunned officials who had been interested in the devastation and expected the worst, raised questions about who was on the list and how it was compiled.
A new list of missing persons contained hundreds of more names than a previously published list. Why has it increased so dramatically?
Sheriff Kory L. Honea, of Butte County, said her staff had revised the list by adding every person described as missing to every 911 call received since the fire, including during times of panic at the time where she had shot down the area.
"I give you the best information I have now," said the sheriff. "We will not wait until it is perfect to hinder progress."
The sheriff said Friday that officials had counted about 330 people on an earlier list of missing persons, but the number further increased on Friday as more names were added.
"It's a dynamic list," said Sheriff Honea. "It will fluctuate at a time every day."
Why put people on the list if the sheriff is not sure of their disappearance?
The list includes people who may not know that they have been missing. Sheriff Honea said he hoped that the people who were safely and misclassified in the missing list would check the list and call the sheriff's office.
"We find that there are a lot of people who do not know we are looking for them," said the sheriff. "That's why we publish this list."
Is there a trend among people listed as missing?
Many are older. Of the 246 people for whom ages were given, over 200 were over 60 years old. The youngest person on the list is 20 and the oldest is 101.
Eric Reinbold, the chief of police in Paradise, the city most affected by the fire, said the new list pointed out how many old people could be trapped by the fire.
"As in all communities, we had seniors and some of them stopped driving or could not drive anymore," said Chief Reinbold. "There are a number of reasons why people can not evacuate themselves."
How reliable is the list?
Like the release of fire, the search for the missing has sometimes been chaotic. An earlier list issued by the sheriff's office included five 119-year-olds. The five people are still on the missing list but their age has been removed. At least five names are listed twice and question marks are also found next to certain people.
Has anyone on the list been found?
A search on Facebook seems to indicate that at least a dozen people who survived the fire are on the list of missing persons.
David and Frances Neil are on the missing list in Butte County, but the couple's daughter-in-law, Domonique Neil, said they were "safe and family friendly."
When contacted by the New York Times, Ms. Neil stated that she did not know that the couple was on the Butte County list. "There are a lot of lists going around," she says. "It's hard to keep track."
The experience of the Neil family and others wrongly reported as missing points to a potential gap in the system: there is no reason for people who are safe to consult the list and help fix it.
Do officials have an estimate of the final number of deaths?
California has never seen such a fire. Law enforcement officials are very hesitant to guess.
Chief Reinbold said that he had no way of predicting what the final numbers would be. But he prays for the hundreds of people on the list: "Nobody wants that number to be that high."
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