Deadliest fire in California history kills 42 people

PARADISE, United States (AFP) – The number of people killed by a massive blaze in northern California rose to 42 on Monday, making it the deadliest wildfire in the history of the state.

Thousands of firefighters spent a fifth day digging battle lines to contain the ''Camp Fire'' in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Sacramento, while search teams were on a grim mission to recover the dead.

''As of today, an additional 13 human remains have been recovered, which brings the total number to 42,'' Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.

The blaze is ''the deadliest wildland fire in California history,'' Honea said.

Although it is difficult to be certain due to inconsistencies in record keeping and categorization, the Camp Fire appears to deadliest American wildfire in a century – since the Cloquet Fire killed an estimated 1,000 people in Minnesota in 1918.

The Camp Fire is the largest of several infernos that have sent a quarter of a million people fleeing their homes across the tinder-dry state, with winds of up to 60 miles (100 kilometers) per hour fanning the fastmoving flames.

In addition to the historic loss of life, the Camp Fire blaze is also more destructive than any other on record, having razed 6,500 homes in the town of Paradise, effectively wiping it off the map.

More than 5,100 firefighters from as far as the states of Washington and Texas have been working to halt the advance of the inferno as ''mass casualty'' search teams backed by anthropologists and a DNA lab pick through the charred ruins to identify remains – sometimes reduced to no more than shards of bone.