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PARADISE, Calif. (AP) – The rain helped extinguish a deadly forest fire in the gold rush country of northern California, but the moisture also turned the ash into a thick paste and prevented the hunt for revealing bone fragments of a body.
The researchers resumed work Friday afternoon after the rain hit Paradise in California. They scattered through the ruins of a mobile home park wrapped in thick fog, some painting debris with rakes while others raised crooked metal to look underneath or drive dogs through the ashes.
Humans and dogs have already searched this park, as evidenced by the traces of orange spray paint left by the research teams to indicate that they have surveyed an area. But Craig Covey, who heads a research team in Orange County, southern California, said he was looking again because it was the last known address of the missing, mostly elderly.
The investigators wore yellow rain underwear and protective helmets against falling branches. They were discreetly looking for clues that could indicate that someone could not get out, such as a car in the driveway or a wheelchair ramp. They were looking not only for bones, but all that could be a pile of ashes cremated.
The country's deadliest fire in the last century has killed at least 84 people and more than 560 people have still not been found. Despite the mild weather, more than 800 volunteers searched for Thanksgiving remains and again Friday, two weeks after the flames swept the Sierra Nevada hills, authorities said.
Before searching the mobile home park, Covey's team of 30 men worked several hours on Friday morning before stopping and returning to the staging area with hot coffee, coffee and coffee. food and a small electric heater to warm up. Covey decided that the high winds and the rain had made the conditions too dangerous to continue searching.
Just as the rain saturated the ground, it added weight to the imposing pines that threatened to collapse, what the firefighters called the "widow makers". It was Brian Abney's job to watch him in case one fell.
"If you start to hear creaks, you'd better look in the air," he said.
While the rain made everyone colder and wetter, they kept the mission in mind, said Chris Stevens, who wore five layers of clothing to keep warm.
"It does not change the minds of the guys who work," he said. "Everyone here is very committed to helping people here."
The rain complicated the search, but it also helped to quell the fire, said Josh Bischof, chief operating officer of the California Department of Forests and Fire Protection.
Once the rain has fallen, officials will be able to determine if the fire is completely extinguished, he said.
The camp fire caught fire on November 8 and destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings, most of which were houses. The agency said it was more than the eight worst fires in California's history, with thousands of displaced people.
On Friday, volunteers interrupted by the rain found other ways to help.
Covey and several members of the team took two big brown bags full of lunch to Stewart Nugent, 64, who stayed at home and fought the flames with a gazebo, sprinkler and shovel. He has been here for two weeks with his cat, Larry.
The first winter storm that hit California has dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain on the burned area since its start Wednesday, said Craig Shoemaker of the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
The weather service issued a warning about potential flash floods and debris flows from areas affected by major fires in northern California, including burned areas in Paradise.
Shoemaker said Friday afternoon that about a quarter of an inch of rain was falling on time, which is not enough to cause serious problems. An inch of rain per hour would be harder, he said.
The rain should subside at midnight, followed by light showers on Saturday, he said.
In southern California, more and more residents were allowed to return to the evacuated areas because of the Woolsey Fire fire of 151 km2 (391 km2) while the teams were working on the repair of electric utilities , telephone and gas.
Nearly 1,100 residents were still under evacuation in Malibu and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, compared with 250,000 at the height of the fire.
On November 8th, the fire was declared just west of Los Angeles under the strong winds. Suburban communities and natural parks have been burned to the ocean, leaving vast expanses of blackened earth and numerous homes. According to officials, three people were found dead and 1,643 structures, most of them houses, were destroyed.
In northern California, field workers have tried to keep their minds focused on the task at hand rather than the tragedy of the situation.
"Guys will never say it's hard," said David Kang, a member of the Orange County Research Team. "But he is."
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