'Raining hell down': death toll rises to 25 in California fires-more victims
'Raining hell down': death toll rises to 25 in California fires, as more victims found
The charred remains of fourteen more victims have been found in and around the northern California town of Paradise, and two bodies were also discovered in Malibu, officials said on Saturday, raising the death toll to 25.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott Maclean said there were no details immediately available about the circumstances of the deaths at Paradise, a mountain community some 90 miles (145 km) north of Sacramento left devastated by the Camp Fire. He said the bodies were badly burned, which would make identification difficult.
Authorities are bringing in a mobile DNA lab to help with identification and are encouraging relatives to donate.
The Camp Fire burned down more than 6,700 homes and businesses in Paradise, more structures than any other California wildfire on record. It grew to 105,000 acres on Saturday with 20% containment.
Winds were expected to dramatically increase, which could create the extreme fire conditions that caused the blaze to initially spread so rapidly.
The Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea, said 110 people were listed as missing and he urged residents to be vigilant and heed evacuation warnings and orders.
“I don’t like having to get up here every night to tell you about more bodies we found,” he said.
In southern California, two bodies were found severely burned inside a car on a long residential driveway in Malibu, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Chief John Benedict said. The home is on a winding stretch of Mulholland Highway with steep panoramic views, where on Saturday the roadway was littered with rocks, a few large boulders and fallen power lines, some of them still on fire.