1,000 still missing in California wildfire

washington — Emergency services on Sunday sifted through the charred wreckage of California’s deadliest ever wildfire, searching for signs of nearly 1,000 people believed still missing as crews made progress in bringing the blaze under control.

The remains of 77 people have been recovered, the Butte County Sheriff ’s Office said late on Sunday, as it cut the number of missing to 993 from 1,276. It gave no other details.

The Camp Fire broke out in Northern California on November 8 and quickly all but obliterated Paradise, a mountain town of nearly 27,000 people around 145km north of state capital Sacramento.

Officials said it had consumed about 150,000 acres and was 65 percent contained late on Sunday, up from 60 per cent earlier in the day, as prospects of a heavy rainstorm from late Tuesday onwards raised hopes that that percentage will rise as the week progresses.

They said full containment was not expected until November 30, however.

Up to 10cm of rain are forecast to fall north of San Francisco between late Tuesday and Friday, said Patrick Burke, a forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.

“This weather system is locked in,” he said.

The rain would also make it harder for forensic teams sifting through ash and dirt looking for the bones of the dead. “The rain will easily disturb the soil where remains might be found,” Burke said.

Pathologists from the University of Nevada, Reno, worked through the weekend as firefighters peeled back debris, collecting bits of burned bones and photographing everything that might help identify the victims. The storm, which is expected to carry moderate winds of 15 to 20mph could also cause problems for evacuees, hundreds of whom are sheltering in tents. —