Burned man dies — Camp Fire toll hits 86

Butte County sheriff ’s officials announced Tuesday that a man burned in the Camp Fire has died from his injuries, bringing the fire’s death toll to 86.

When the fire broke out on Nov. 8, Larry Smith, 80, was burned while trying to douse the flames that had consumed his car, officials said.

He was transported to UC Davis Medical Center and died Nov. 25. Smith was a Paradise resident.

Officials have named 51 of the 86 victims killed in California’s deadliest wildfire. Thirtyone of the 86 victims have been tentatively identified and their names are being withheld.

Authorities have located 3,266 people since

the fire broke out, and three people remain missing, sheriff ’s officials said.

California’s deadliest wildfire burned 153,336 acres across Butte County from Nov. 8 to Nov. 25 and destroyed 13,972 residences and 4,821 buildings.

On Tuesday, officials said that debris cleanup for all of California’s wildfires in November — in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties — could cost at least $3 billion.

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the state’s Office of Emergency Services, said he expects debris removal to begin next month once crews finish cleaning up hazardous materials at the sites.

The cost, which Ghilarducci said is speculative at this point, is more than twice the $1.3 billion it cost to clean up the destruction from the Wine Country fires in October 2017. The funding will come from a combination of federal, state and local governments.

In a change from last year’s effort, the state will manage contracts and hiring for debris removal, rather than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Ghilarducci expects the debris removal to take a year.