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BUTTE COUNTY — With the tragic death toll rising to 42 people, the Camp Fire roaring through Butte County officially has surpassed a grim marker, becoming the single most deadly and destructive fire in California’s history.
The devastating number of people who have perished is almost certain to rise as rescue and recovery workers sift through the ruins and ashes of houses. An untold number of people remain missing, and it could be days or weeks before their loved ones have answers. More than 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures have burned to the ground or been damaged beyond repair, leaving people shell-shocked and wondering how they will pick up the pieces.
Three victims have been publicly identified by fire officials so far. They are Ernest Foss, 65, of Paradise, Jesus Fernandez, 48, of Concow, and Carl Wiley, 77, of Magalia.
Before the Camp Fire broke out Thursday morning, the state’s single deadliest fire occurred in 1933 in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park Fire, where 29 people working on trails and roads were overcome by flames whipping through a nearby canyon.
As of Monday night, the fire had scorched some 117,000 acres and was just 30 percent contained. A pair of fires in Southern California also continued to destroy homes — many of them owned by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Neil Young — and businesses and forced evacuations.
Smoke lingered over the Bay Area, and unhealthy air quality — expected to last at least through Friday — forced the cancellation of several local events, from high school football games to half marathons.
Now, even as residents of Paradise — a quiet town of around 26,000 almost entirely razed by the inferno — begin contemplating the future, the fire continues to tear through communities to the north and south, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.
Dozens of residents displaced by the fire huddled Monday at a Walmart parking lot, where people delivered donations of food, clothing and other supplies.
Aubrianna Hernandez, a junior at Chico High School, doesn’t know yet whether her family’s home in Paradise is still standing. But she decided to volunteer.
“I just kind of showed up,” Hernandez said. “I know there’s other people in worse conditions than me.”
Gwendolyn and Richard Gaskin moved from the East Coast in May and purchased a mobile home in Paradise just three days before the fire broke out.
“We don’t have nowhere to go at this point,” Gwendolyn said.
Preston Wrachford lost his home in Paradise and also was sifting through the donations in the lot.
“I was a mover and now I’m pretty sure I’m out of business,” Wrachford said.
Genesis Baker, his girlfriend, fears she is, too. Baker worked for her family’s landscaping business in Paradise.
“There’s nothing left to landscape,” she said. “My dad confirmed five of his contracts are gone. It was a small town to begin with. One of our customers paid us in casseroles.”
Last ones in Paradise: Camp Fire survivors live on in apocalyptic fire zone
Not far away, Travis Crockett sat in his truck as his wife, Robin, waited with dozens of others to speak to insurance agents, who set up in a gravel parking lot in Chico.
The Crocketts lost their home on Winding Way in Paradise.
“Our whole neighborhood is leveled,” Travis, 42, said. His brother-in-law, a U.S. Marshal, had early access to the decimated streets of the town and drove around snapping pictures of as many family members’ homes as possible. Most were gone.
For the next week, the Crocketts are staying at Motel 6 in Red Bluff, which Travis said is booked with other Paradise “refugees.”
California Highway Patrol Valley Division Chief Brent Newman, assisting officials in the area, said officers have seen an increase in the number of people looking to return to their neighborhoods but urged residents to be patient.
“It is not a safe environment whatsoever,” Newman said at a press conference Monday night. “We ask the public to please be patient with us.”
As residents flee the area or hunker down, more than 5,000 fire crews from as far away as South Dakota are attempting to keep the fire from spreading into rugged terrain thick with vegetation to the north and tamping out fire west of Berry Creek to the south.
There’s a possibility the region could see some rainfall next week. While that would provide some relief to firefighters battling the blaze, it also could bring new challenges for people who rely on the Oroville Dam for drinking water.
“Contingencies are in place to ensure safety when it begins to rain. When the rain starts, we’ll be paying close attention to debris entering the lake and downstream rivers and will likely need to increase our water quality tests to ensure safety for recreation and water supply for urban/agricultural and environmental uses,” Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Water Resources, said in an email Monday.
While the official cause of the fire remains under investigation, state regulators are looking into PG&E, which reported malfunctions with electrical infrastructure near the source of the fire. On Monday, trading in PG&E was temporarily stopped as shares dropped significantly amid news the utility company might be responsible for the fire. Regulators also are looking into issues with Southern California Edison Company infrastructure, which also reported problems that might have contributed to a fire burning across Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s vice president in charge of fire-safety efforts, said the company was working to restore power when safe and was working with first responders to turn off gas lines when needed. Sixty-one of PG&E’s own employees lost their homes in the blaze, he said.
In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire has burned more than 90,000 acres and was far from contained Monday evening. The blaze has claimed the lives of at least two people and destroyed more than 350 homes and businesses. Firefighters had a better handle on the Hill Fire, which ignited around the same time Thursday afternoon not far from the Woolsey Fire. The Hill Fire was 80 percent contained Monday, having already scorched 4,531 acres and destroyed two structures.
On Monday, President Trump tweeted that he approved California’s request for a major disaster declaration, which will free up federal funding, and the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee said his party would ask for up to $720 million for wildfire relief.
“Withholding funds is not the solution, and we will fight for it,” Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont told reporters on a conference call, referring to a tweet from President Donald Trump blaming poor forest management for the firestorms and threatening to withhold federal help.
Closer to home, the San Francisco 49ers welcomed the Paradise High School football team to Levi’s Stadium for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants. Many of the high school players lost homes, and the team was forced to forfeit their playoff game because of the fire. The 49ers will be matching fan donations to the North Valley Community Foundation, which is supporting fire victims.
In the meantime, officials in Butte County are trying to locate missing residents. The sheriff’s office requested calls be made to a missing persons hotline even if they already had reported the person missing to the department. Detectives will advise callers on the status of their case and provide any additional details or, if necessary, offer instructions on how to submit a saliva sample for DNA analysis.
Some of the remains recovered are being sent to morgues in Sacramento County, where Butte County officials are working with the California Department of Justice’s DNA lab and teams of coroners’ investigators and anthropologists to identify the decedents. He had no estimate for how long that would take.
On Monday, Butte County Sheriff-Coroner Kory Honea said he had requested 150 search-and-rescue personnel to help, two portable morgues and cadaver dogs.
“We are very early in our efforts,” Honea said. “There is still a great deal of work to do.”
Butte County missing persons call center phone numbers:
- (530) 538-6570
- (530) 538-7544
- (530) 538-7671
Erin Baldassari and Matthias Gafni contributed reporting.
