Camp Fire contained; crews continue search for bodies

The Camp Fire toll: At least 85 people have been killed; 249 are listed as missing.

Fire-frazzled Northern California finally got some good news Sunday: An epic blaze that ravaged the countryside, killed dozens and wiped out thousands of homes was 100 percent contained.

The Camp Fire – the nation’s deadliest in a century – was contained within 153,336 acres, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The wildfire, which ignited in a rural area Nov. 8 before consuming the town of Paradise and roaring through nearby communities, has left a staggering toll. At least 85 people have been killed; 249 are listed as missing. Nearly 19,000 buildings, most of them homes, have been destroyed.

Thousands of people packing emergency shelters, hotels and campsites have lives in limbo, uncertain whether they will have communities to return to. The blaze has destroyed more structures than the state’s other seven worst wildfires combined.

Fire crews battling the blaze got a boost last week from the first winter storm to hit the state this year. About 7 inches of rain fell over the burn area for three days without causing major mudslides, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley of the National Weather Service.

The wet weather helped extinguish hot spots and enabled responders to ramp up the search for additional victims, particularly in Paradise, a retirement community with a population of 27,000.

Sunday, crews continued sifting through muddy ash for human remains in and around the devastated town.

Fire officials fear the death toll will climb as evacuees returning home find bodies in the shells of their homes.

Search crews pressed on despite the grim task. “The guys will never say it’s hard,” crew member David Kang said. “But it is.”

In Southern California, more residents returned to areas evacuated because of another wildfire as crews repaired power, telephone and gas utilities.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials were in the last phase of repopulating Malibu and unincorporated areas of the county.

At the height of the fire, 250,000 fled their homes. Three people died, and 1,643 buildings, most of them homes, were destroyed.

KATHLEEN RONAYNE/AP After a brief delay to let a downpour pass, volunteers resume their search for human remains at a mobile home park in Paradise, Calif., on Friday. Fire officials fear the death toll from the Camp Fire will climb.