First rain in months douses California wildfire
CHICO (California): The first significant rain in months in northern California all but extinguished the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history but also raised risks of flash flooding that could hinder teams searching for human remains.
Between 102mm-152mm of rain was expected to fall through the weekend in areas around the town of Paradise, the community of nearly 27,000 people 280km northeast of San Francisco that was largely incinerated by the so-called Camp Fire.
The blaze killed at least 83 people and 563 remain unaccounted for, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told a news briefing.
“The rain is a concern for us and there is the potential for mudflows,” Honea said. Searchers would be pulled out of areas threatened by mudslides, he said.
The storm added to the misery of evacuees camped out in a Walmart parking lot in nearby Chico.
Mitchell Manley was cold and wet but thankful he persuaded his elderly mother to evacuate. He said most of the dead were retirees who thought they could ride out the flames in their homes.
“I was lucky to get her out, she was going to sit it out,” said Manley, who was camping at Walmart while he waited to go back to his home.
Warehouses were opened in Chico to provide evacuees protection from the cold and rain as celebrity chef Jose Andres prepared to cook hundreds of Thanksgiving meals for evacuees.
Some 830 people had signed up to spend their Thanksgiving combing through ash and rubble in forecast heavy rain, searching for human remains, Honea said.
The rains, which in some areas were likely to be accompanied by winds of up to 72kph, raised risks of ravines turning into rivers of mud.
The fire has burned across 62,000ha of the Sierra foothills and is 85% contained.
“There’s no vegetation to hold the earth and there’s a risk it could just start moving, with mud carrying everything in its path,” National Weather Service forecaster Johnnie Powell said in Sacramento.
Firefighters installed straw tubes known as wattles to stop hillsides being washed away.
“With the heavy rains, the fire activity is practically nothing,” said Cal Fire Operation Section Chief Josh Bishop.
The death toll has been gradually rising, with two more names added to the list on Wednesday to bring the total to 83 people, with 58 of them tentatively identified, Honea said.
The number of people unaccounted for, which has fluctuated widely over the past week, declined by 307.
The Camp Fire incinerated 13,503 homes in and around Paradise. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. — Reuters