Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty
As the death toll from the threedevastating wildfires ravaging Californiacontinues to rise, a reported 10 victims died while inside vehicles.
As of Sunday evening, at least 31 people — 29 in Northern California and two in Southern California — are dead and at least 228 people are missing as three fires rage across the state, theAssociated Pressreported.
Firefighters in the northern part of the state are battling a blaze — known as the Camp Fire — which as of Monday morning, had burned through 113,000 acres and was only 25 percent contained, according toCal Fire.
In a press releases issued on Sunday, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that thenumber of fatalitiesfrom the blaze had grown to 29. Over half of the victims were found in the city of Paradise.
A total of 6 additional deaths, all from Paradise, were reported on Sunday — “5 in homes and 1 in vehicle.”
Two of those victims were found “dead in vehicles,” while the remaining two were found in homes.
In their first press release, the Sheriff’s Office stated on Friday that nine fatalities had been reported, all in the town of Paradise.
PETER DASILVA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Noah Berger/AP/REX/Shutterstock
An additional four victims were later found.
“One person was found inside a residence and three were found outside of residences,” according to the statement.
Commenting on how difficult the recovery process has been, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told theChico Enterprise-Recordthat “there is so much debris in some of these areas that it’s very difficult to determine whether or not there might be human remains there.”
“In some cases,” he added, “the fire burned so intensely that it burned everything to the ground, and in some cases it melted the metal. In those cases, it is possible the temperatures were high enough to completely consume the body.”
RELATED VIDEO: 27,000 People Told to Evacuate California Town of Paradise Due to Impending Wildfire
In apress conference on Sundayabout the Woolsey Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Commander Scott Gage stated that two additional deaths had been reported, which brought the death toll up to 31.
“LA State Homicide Bureau continues to investigate the death of what we believe to be two adults individuals,” he remarked. “The victims were located Friday, Nov. 9 inside a burned vehicle in the area off Mulholland Highway.”
The names of the victims have yet to be released.
Hans Gutknecht/Digital First Media/Los Angeles Daily News/Getty
As of Monday morning, the Woolsey Fire had burned 91,572 acres and was 20 percent contained, Cal Fire reported. The third blaze, known as the Hill Fire, had burned through 4,531 acres of land and was 80 percent contained.
Numerous celebritieshave lost their homes, including Miley Cyrus, Neil Young,Gerard Butler,Camille GrammerandRobin Thicke.
Although thousands of firefighters are working to contain the blazes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that “strong offshore” winds and low humidity “will promote conditions highly favorable” for acontinued spreadof the fires.
To help victims of the California wildfires, visit theLos Angeles Fire Department Foundation, theCalifornia Fire Foundationand theAmerican Red Cross, for more information.
source: people.com
