"Tens of thousands remained evacuated Sunday night."
"The good news Sunday was that the fire had slowed its furious pace overnight amid some gusting winds.
"Containment increased from 25 percent overnight. The cities of Oroville and Chico were on alert over the weekend as the fire briefly made a run toward them, but both had escaped damage as of Sunday night.
"The National Weather Service maintained a “red flag” or fire-spread warning Sunday night through early Monday morning, due to expected wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. The growth is dry because the area has not had rain for 210 days, the agency said. Winds, though, are expected to die down Monday about 7 a.m."
"Containment increased from 25 percent overnight. The cities of Oroville and Chico were on alert over the weekend as the fire briefly made a run toward them, but both had escaped damage as of Sunday night.
"The National Weather Service maintained a “red flag” or fire-spread warning Sunday night through early Monday morning, due to expected wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. The growth is dry because the area has not had rain for 210 days, the agency said. Winds, though, are expected to die down Monday about 7 a.m."
Fire officials said the primary goal continues to be cutting fire lines around the 111,000-acre blaze."
"She estimated that 90 percent of [Paradise's] houses are gone, and that about half of downtown has been destroyed."
"Paradise Mayor Jody Jones said the fire first ignited houses dotted throughout the town when it was still two miles away, throwing embers far ahead of its advance."
"City officials had an evacuation plan and even had practiced it once during a morning commute, but the plan was based on evacuating residents in sequence, one section of town at a time, Jones said. With the fire hitting all parts of town, the entire community was forced to evacuate at once, and the roads were “overwhelmed.”
The voracious Camp Fire that ran rampant through Butte County’s hilly towns last week has officially stamped itself as the most merciless in state history, and left forensics experts with a grisly chore in the weeks ahead — finding and identifying those who perished.
Officials reported Sunday night that the death toll has reached 29, making it the deadliest California fire in 85 years. The Camp Fire has also destroyed 6,700 buildings, making it the most destructive blaze in state history measured by loss of structures. Most of the damage and death occurred in the town of Paradise, just east of Chico, which was almost entirely consumed by flames on Thursday.
The death toll, which increased by six on Sunday, equals the death toll from the 1933 Griffith Fire in Los Angeles as the worst mass-casualty wildland fire ever in the state. The Oakland hills Tunnel Fire in 1991 caused 25 deaths.
The fire slowed some on Sunday, but officials said the risk of flaring remains high and winds are once again a threat overnight.
As 4,000-plus firefighters dug battle lines in the hills, hoping to quell the fire’s advance amid windy conditions, ten “mass casualty” search teams from around the state stepped up the grisly task of sifting through razed homes and peering into charred vehicles looking for victims’ remains.
All weekend, officials said they expected more bad news on the body count. “We are bracing for more fatalities,” Office of Emergency Services official Mark Pazin warned.
As of Sunday evening, 228 residents of the hills remain unaccounted for days after the fire first rained embers down on the towns of Paradise, Magalia and Concow, igniting home after home, forcing frantic evacuations on narrow mountain roads. The Butte County Sheriff’s Department has received more than 500 calls about missing persons, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.
A number of those unaccounted for may be in shelters, Honea said.
Honea said search crews are concentrating first in areas that had extensive damage or where authorities have received reports of missing people. The search is complicated by debris, including rows of burned vehicles, left abandoned on roads.
He said in some areas the fire burned so hot that there may be no human remains left, or just pieces of bone. No victim identifications had been formally released as of Sunday evening. Investigators were bringing in DNA testing equipment to help with the task.
Some areas were still burning and unsafe for rescuers to enter Sunday, Honea said. His goal, he said, is to get answers as soon as possible to people who are missing loved ones.
“This is my community,” he said.
Tens of thousands remained evacuated Sunday night, including residents of Paradise, population 27,000, who jammed centers in Chico, Oroville and other areas, or stayed with relatives in the area.
Abandoned cars
Evacuees told tales of receiving warnings via text alerts and rushing to their cars only to find themselves immediately in stalled traffic as thousands tried to escape town on its two main roads. Officials turned both Skyway and Clark Road into one-way routes into the valley, but cars nonetheless backed up for miles.
11/ 11 - 8:03 am PT Updated 5 hours 6 minutes ago
By RYAN SABALOW, KEVIN VALINE and TONY BIZJAK
The Tribune - San Luis Obispo
Officials reported Sunday night that the death toll has reached 29, making it the deadliest California fire in 85 years. The Camp Fire has also destroyed 6,700 buildings, making it the most destructive blaze in state history measured by loss of structures. Most of the damage and death occurred in the town of Paradise, just east of Chico, which was almost entirely consumed by flames on Thursday.
The death toll, which increased by six on Sunday, equals the death toll from the 1933 Griffith Fire in Los Angeles as the worst mass-casualty wildland fire ever in the state. The Oakland hills Tunnel Fire in 1991 caused 25 deaths.
The fire slowed some on Sunday, but officials said the risk of flaring remains high and winds are once again a threat overnight.
As 4,000-plus firefighters dug battle lines in the hills, hoping to quell the fire’s advance amid windy conditions, ten “mass casualty” search teams from around the state stepped up the grisly task of sifting through razed homes and peering into charred vehicles looking for victims’ remains.
All weekend, officials said they expected more bad news on the body count. “We are bracing for more fatalities,” Office of Emergency Services official Mark Pazin warned.
As of Sunday evening, 228 residents of the hills remain unaccounted for days after the fire first rained embers down on the towns of Paradise, Magalia and Concow, igniting home after home, forcing frantic evacuations on narrow mountain roads. The Butte County Sheriff’s Department has received more than 500 calls about missing persons, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.
A number of those unaccounted for may be in shelters, Honea said.
Honea said search crews are concentrating first in areas that had extensive damage or where authorities have received reports of missing people. The search is complicated by debris, including rows of burned vehicles, left abandoned on roads.
He said in some areas the fire burned so hot that there may be no human remains left, or just pieces of bone. No victim identifications had been formally released as of Sunday evening. Investigators were bringing in DNA testing equipment to help with the task.
Some areas were still burning and unsafe for rescuers to enter Sunday, Honea said. His goal, he said, is to get answers as soon as possible to people who are missing loved ones.
“This is my community,” he said.
Tens of thousands remained evacuated Sunday night, including residents of Paradise, population 27,000, who jammed centers in Chico, Oroville and other areas, or stayed with relatives in the area.
Abandoned cars
Evacuees told tales of receiving warnings via text alerts and rushing to their cars only to find themselves immediately in stalled traffic as thousands tried to escape town on its two main roads. Officials turned both Skyway and Clark Road into one-way routes into the valley, but cars nonetheless backed up for miles.
CAMP FIRE IN BUTTE COUNTY
Red circles on this live-updating map are actively burning areas, as detected by satellite. Orange circles have burned in the past 12 to 24 hours, and yellow circles have burned within the past 48 hours. Yellow areas represent the fire perimeter.
[GRAPHIC - Live Updating Map]
Smoke-filled skies made it appear as though it were midnight. At times, escaping drivers ran a gauntlet of burning trees on both sides of the road.
“It was terrifying,” Paradise resident Kelly Angel said. “There were flames behind us. People were abandoning their cars and running. People were driving erratically because of the flames right behind us.”
She said it took her six hours to reach Skyway from her house, a drive that normally takes no more than eight minutes.
“I thought I was going to die,” Angel said. “I was on the phone with my dad and crying, telling him my car was going to burn up. It was terrifying.”
At Adventist Health Feather River Hospital, workers hurriedly shuttled patients into private vehicles to escape the oncoming flames. At one point, when it appeared the hospital might be consumed, doctors and nurses pushed hospital equipment out to an already scorched helicopter pad as a temporary triage center. The fire surrounded the area, but did not burn the main hospital.
The good news Sunday was that the fire had slowed its furious pace overnight, amid some gusting winds.
Containment increased from 25 percent overnight. The cities of Oroville and Chico were on alert over the weekend as the fire briefly made a run toward them, but both had escaped damage as of Sunday night.
The National Weather Service maintained a “red flag” or fire-spread warning Sunday night through early Monday morning, due to expected wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. The growth is dry because the area has not had rain for 210 days, the agency said. Winds, though, are expected to die down Monday about 7 a.m.
“The winds will give (firefighters) a break, but no rain in sight,” at least until Thanksgiving, meteorologist Johnnie Powell said.
Fire officials said the primary goal continues to be cutting fire lines around the 111,000-acre blaze.
[...]
Red circles on this live-updating map are actively burning areas, as detected by satellite. Orange circles have burned in the past 12 to 24 hours, and yellow circles have burned within the past 48 hours. Yellow areas represent the fire perimeter.
[GRAPHIC - Live Updating Map]
Smoke-filled skies made it appear as though it were midnight. At times, escaping drivers ran a gauntlet of burning trees on both sides of the road.
“It was terrifying,” Paradise resident Kelly Angel said. “There were flames behind us. People were abandoning their cars and running. People were driving erratically because of the flames right behind us.”
She said it took her six hours to reach Skyway from her house, a drive that normally takes no more than eight minutes.
“I thought I was going to die,” Angel said. “I was on the phone with my dad and crying, telling him my car was going to burn up. It was terrifying.”
At Adventist Health Feather River Hospital, workers hurriedly shuttled patients into private vehicles to escape the oncoming flames. At one point, when it appeared the hospital might be consumed, doctors and nurses pushed hospital equipment out to an already scorched helicopter pad as a temporary triage center. The fire surrounded the area, but did not burn the main hospital.
The good news Sunday was that the fire had slowed its furious pace overnight, amid some gusting winds.
Containment increased from 25 percent overnight. The cities of Oroville and Chico were on alert over the weekend as the fire briefly made a run toward them, but both had escaped damage as of Sunday night.
The National Weather Service maintained a “red flag” or fire-spread warning Sunday night through early Monday morning, due to expected wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. The growth is dry because the area has not had rain for 210 days, the agency said. Winds, though, are expected to die down Monday about 7 a.m.
“The winds will give (firefighters) a break, but no rain in sight,” at least until Thanksgiving, meteorologist Johnnie Powell said.
Fire officials said the primary goal continues to be cutting fire lines around the 111,000-acre blaze.
[...]
*****
That's enough of an update but lots, lots more in the report. The stories coming out of that fire situation are overwhelming. The reporters really did their job.
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