Death Toll Jumps to 25 in Wildfires, 57,000 Buildings Threatened
At least 25 people have died in massive wildfires in California, authorities reported late on Saturday.
In Northern California, 25 people have been reported dead in the Camp Fire, making this the second deadliest fire in California history. In Southern California, officials confirmed that two people have died in the Woolsey Fire near Malibu.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea warned of the possibility more fatalities will be discovered in the Camp Fire. He said family members of people reported missing can submit DNA samples so authorities can cross-check the samples should they find more remains.
Mr Honea said on Saturday night that 14 more bodies were recovered from the Camp Fire. On Friday authorities announced they had found nine bodies in Paradise, a town of 27,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Some of the victims died inside their cars as they were attempting to flee the sudden approach of the flames.
The fire, which has burned at least 164 square miles and is 65 per cent contained, destroyed 6453 homes and a total 6713 structures. It is the most destructive fire in state history. The dense smoke on Saturday limited the use of aircraft fighting the Camp Fire, officials said. Mr Honea cautioned people to continue to remain vigilant.
“We have another one to two days of strong winds with the potential to create explosive fire behaviour similar to the conditions that occurred on Thursday (the day the fire started),” Mr Honea said.
A brief respite in the high winds Saturday gave firefighters a chance to control the edges of the blazes and to swap crews, replacing firefighters who had worked for two days without rest, said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.
But with the winds expected to reach 40mph gusts on Sunday, it’s likely more homes would be lost, Osby warned. Ventura County Fire Department Chief Mark Lorenzen said the devastating Santa Ana winds could last through on Tuesday.
“Don’t be lulled by a false sense of security,” said Lorenzen in a press conference Saturday evening. “Right now mother nature has given us a short reprieve. The winds are not blowing. But we know tomorrow Mother Nature is going to turn her fan back on.”