Troops search debris for bodies in town wrecked by wildfires
NATIONAL GUARD troops in the US have been searching through charred debris for more victims of California’s deadliest wildfire as top officials toured the ruins of a community completely destroyed by the flames.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke joined Governor Jerry Brown on a visit to the levelled town of Paradise, telling reporters it was the worst fire devastation he had ever seen.
“Now is not the time to point fingers,” Mr Zinke said. “There are lots of reasons these catastrophic fires are happening.”
He cited warmer temperatures, dead trees and the poor forest management. Mr Brown, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump’s policies, said he spoke with Mr Trump, who pledged federal assistance.
“This is so devastating that I don’t really have the words to describe it,” Brown said, saying officials would need to learn how to better prevent fires from becoming so deadly .
Nearly 8,800 homes were destroyed when flames hit Paradise, a former gold-mining camp popular with retirees, on November 8, killing at least 56 people in California’s deadliest wildfire, Sheriff Kory Honea announced on Wednesday evening.
There were also three fatalities from separate blazes in Southern California.
Mr Honea said the task of searching for bodies was so vast that his office brought in another 287 searchers ON Wednesday, including the National Guard troops, bringing the total number of searchers to 461 plus 22 cadaver dogs. He said a rapid-DNA assessment system was expected to be in place soon to speed up identifications of the dead, though officials have tentatively identified 47 of the 56.
It will take years to rebuild the town of 27,000, if people decide that is what should be done, said Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains looks like a wasteland.
“The infrastructure is a total rebuild at this point,” Mr Long said. “You’re not going to be able to rebuild Paradise the way it was.”
Temporary schools and hospitals will be brought in, Mr Long said. Officials are also looking to bring in mobile homes for thousands of people left homeless.