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Messages are posted in front of a church in Chico, California, as evacuees, their families and friends search for missing people from the northern California forest fire. Authorities in northern California have struggled to understand the number of people missing from the deadliest fire for at least a century in the United States. (Gillian Flaccus / AP)
CHICO, California – In the midst of a troubling haze at the throat, disabled French retiree Michael French walked effortlessly over a parking lot to submit a DNA sample to California authorities that he hopes to be able to help him. to locate his missing niece.
French, 62, said he and other members of his family were looking for Wendy since the fastest fire in the history of California, which had ravaged one of the most destroyers of the history of California.
"No one has heard of her at all. She has not made contact with us, so I am deeply concerned, "said French. The family assumes the worst.
As firefighters struggled to contain the deadly fire in the camp, authorities redoubled efforts to identify the victims. Teams of volunteers in white protective clothing searched the blackened ground and family members came to improvised DNA centers where their mouths were stamped to help identify the remains of the victim. The remains of at least 13 victims have not been identified, said Butte County Sheriff, Kory Honea.
The list of missing persons exceeded 1,000 on Friday, after authorities published 600 names to identify people found by friends and relatives. The staggering number of deaths has raised fears of an exponential increase in deaths.
The long list has confused even President Trump, who tweeted on Friday that "as many out of 600" would have died in the flames.
"It's amazing, they can not even see the bodies, it's amazing," tweeted Trump, who is scheduled to visit the area on Saturday.
But as the names of missing persons have been extended in the four-digit figures, Honea warned that it was possible that many of the listed people were safe but had not called the authorities to confirm. Some names on the list could be duplicates with different spellings, he added.
"We have an important event, an unprecedented event, in which a significant number of people have been displaced and dispersed in northern California," he said, explaining why it was difficult to confirm the missing names. on the growing list of names.
Only 329 people were removed from the list of 1,011 people, he said.
Among those found but still unlisted was Suzanne Heffernan's mother, Shirley Woodhouse. Heffernan had spoken to his parents as they evacuated their home in Paradise a week earlier. Since then, she and her four siblings have been in close contact for the well-being of their parents.
Heffernan was therefore surprised to receive a call from the local sheriff's office on Thursday saying that his mother, aged 80, was on the missing list. A friend from Woodhouse High School had added it.
It's interesting, she said, "if foreigners and non-family members add people to the list of missing persons."
A search and rescue dog searches for human remains in paradise, California, on Friday. (John Locher / AP)
Authorities and residents of Paradise – a community of 26,000 people nestled in the foothills of Sierra Nevada – said the death toll would likely increase in this city where many have come to retire and escape the hustle and bustle. of the city, without, however, specifying the extent of it. Among the residents are many elderly or infirm who may not have been able to escape as the flames approached.
Honea said that it was "certainly possible that we never know" the exact number of people killed in the fire.
"I sincerely hope that we will identify all the missing and identify all the remains," he added. "But that's the nature of this tragedy. … it's a massive, massive undertaking. "
Despite days spent searching the burned area with the largest search and rescue team in the state's history, the authorities said they had barely scratched the surface of the area may contain human remains.
This could mean a long wait for the friends and relatives of the missing.
Friday would have been the 88th birthday of Dorothy Lee Mack, and her sister-in-law had not heard from her since the fire had swept Ridgewood Mobile Home Park, where Mack lived at number 19.
Mack is not one to give in easily, said his sister-in-law, Marian Mack. She survived polio at the age of 10 and later, from cancer and two hip replacements. But Marian did not know if Dorothy would have heard the emergency officials who would have rushed into the mobile homes around 6:30 am, ringing the bell to wake up their sleeping occupants.
"It's a terrible time," said Marian Mack, sometimes visited on Dorothy's birthday. "We just have to wait and pray."
The campfire has consumed more than 140,000 acres – an area the size of Chicago – and is controlled to 50%. But several fires continue to rage across the state. In Southern California, the Woolsey fire swept over an area from Simi Valley to Malibu's multi-million dollar beachside homes. At least three people were killed in this fire.
More than 9,000 firefighters are working to contain the Camp and Woolsey fires with water tanks and helicopters, torches that have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, according to Cal Fire.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag in the campfire area for the night from Saturday to Sunday, which means that strong winds could cause a rapid spread of flames. The authorities are adding firefighting teams to prevent the fire from developing.
They are also redoubling their efforts to identify human remains by displaying "Rapid DNA" machines near fire scenes. This technology allows family members to provide their genetic material with a cheek swab and compare it to a database of unidentified victims in less than two hours.
The machines, which are about the size of a mini-refrigerator, are part of a new initiative put in place by law enforcement after being approved by Congress last year. The FBI hopes to launch a pilot program allowing the police to test suspects in reservation centers and transmit the results to the state's criminal laboratories and to the national DNA database at the beginning of the year. next, announced the agency.
ANDE, a company in Waltham, Mass., Is one of two companies allowed to provide rapid analysis machines to the government, and sent six of them to various fire command posts on Wednesday, the company said. communications manager, Annette Mattern. The DNA samples collected there will only be used to identify the victims, she said, and these machines are not connected to the national DNA database.
The authorities hope to encourage more parents of missing persons to use them. Only 17 DNA samples were processed, they said.
The tents are planted in a field next to a Walmart car park where evacuees from the fire camp are staying. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
On Friday, displaced residents who were camping in a Walmart parking lot in Chico visited an abandoned Sears store where the Federal Emergency Management Agency had set up services.
Jeff Hansen, 37, waited several hours before requesting emergency assistance for his nine-member family, including a 36-year-old brother with cerebral palsy and wheelchair use. He lost his house in paradise, his workplace and one of his three cars in the fire.
"Hopefully FEMA will help us," Hansen said.
The center also became an impromptu gathering place, while displaced residents met with friends and neighbors who feared to have died in the fire.
Lindsay Nelson, 37, has been worried for days about what happened to her 78-year-old drinking buddy, "Jay Jay." But when she saw him in the center, Nelson took him in and photographed a photo to post on Facebook.
"Nobody had heard from him, we thought he was missing. So I'm delighted to see him and know he's fine, "said Nelson, who lived in paradise but had lost the house that she rented there. "It's such a relief. I do not want to hear one of my friends who did not succeed, but it would be too hard with everything else. "
But with the growing number of dead, Nelson is always preparing for the worst.
"The fact is that everyone knows they will know someone who has not survived," she said. "The fact is we will have to build a memorial to heaven."
Annie Gowen and Frances Sellers have been reported from Washington. Tom Jackman and Julie Tate contributed to this Washington report.
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