USA TODAY International Edition
Camp Fire hits deadly record as toll reaches 42
The Camp Fire has become the deadliest wildfire in California history as the death toll reached 42 on Monday night.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea delivered the sobering news at a press conference following a day in which stiff winds conspired with low humidity and parched terrain Monday to hinder the efforts of firefighters combating historically devastating wildfires.
Authorities have 13 coroner’s search teams combing through rubble for the victims and will be getting more on Tuesday. They also will be getting two portable morgue units from the military and cadaver dogs to help with the search.
The collective death toll in California stands at 44 ; the Woolsey Fire burning in Ventura and Los Angeles counties has been blamed for two fatalities. More than 6,500 homes have been destroyed and more than 8,000 firefighters were battling the wind and flames.
The weather prognosis was not good in Southern California.
“The latest rounds of Santa Ana winds are going strong in Southern California,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Samuhel told USA TODAY. “We are seeing gusts near 50 mph. It’s an extreme fire danger, the upper end of the scale.”
The winds drive down the humidity,
“It's a time to pull together and work through these tragedies.” California Gov. Jerry Brown
helping turn vegetation to tinder in an area that hasn’t seen rain in a month, Samuhel said. Relief in the form of precipitation remains a week away, and the winds probably will remain a force into Wednesday, he said.
Samuhel said firefighters could get a modest break from the winds Tuesday but added that the humidity will remain low. “Relief might be an overstatement, but at least the wind won’t be as bad.”
Cal Fire, the statewide fire protection agency, said Monday that the Camp Fire had grown to 176 square miles and was 25 percent contained. Search teams were hunting through the fire-swept city of Paradise, population 27,000, looking for more victims. A mobile DNA lab was set up to help identify victims.
“This is truly a tragedy that all Californians can understand and respond to,” Gov. Jerry Brown said at a news briefing. “It’s a time to pull together and work through these tragedies.”
While the cause of the fire was being investigated, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. came under scrutiny after telling state regulators that it had been having a problem with an electrical transmission line in the area before the fire broke out. Cal Fire investigators were at the scene of the transmission line Monday.
Later Monday, PG&E’s counterpart, Southern California Edison, reported an outage near the origin point of the Woolsey Fire. It has burned more than 90,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, destroyed 370 structures and claimed two lives.
The estimate of structures destroyed by the Woolsey Fire rose sharply Monday, and more than 50,000 homes are threatened, Cal Fire said.
“Due to extreme fire behavior, firefighting efforts have been focused, and will remain focused, on the protection of life and structures,” Cal Fire said.
Crews also had to contend with two smaller fires, the largest of which was contained after it burned 105 acres in the Rocky Peak area of Simi Valley.
The blaze, called the Peak Fire, resulted in the temporary closure of Highway 118 in both directions for most of the morning.
There were positive signs, with some evacuation zones being reopened and thousands of residents heading home. For many, going home was hard. Roger Kelly, 69, was thrilled to see that his lakeside mobile home in the Santa Monica Mountains north of Malibu had survived. But some homes nearby were destroyed.
“I just start weeping,” he said. “Your first view of it, man, it just gets you.”