California wildfire kills 74, at least 1,000 missing and 9,700 homes gutted

More than 98,000 acres have been burned since the blaze began the same day as Camp Fire on November 8.

The destructive California wildfires have so far killed at least 74 people with over 1,000 reported missing, authorities said.

Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea said on Friday evening that the number of people missing due to Northern California's Camp Fire, deemed as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state's history, was 1,011, CNN reported.

Of the 74 victims, 71 were killed in Northern California while the three others died in the Woolsey Fire in Southern California.

As of Friday, the Camp Fire has destroyed about 9,700 homes and scorched 146,000 acres.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the region on Saturday. Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom plan to accompany him.

Meanwhile, the Woolsey Fire in Southern California has destroyed 548 structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said Cal Fire, the state's forestry and fire protection agency.

More than 98,000 acres have been burned since the blaze began the same day as Camp Fire on November 8, while over 3,300 firefighters were making progress against the massive wildfire, which was 67 per cent contained as of Friday.

More than 230,000 acres burned in California in the past week -- larger than the cities of Chicago and Boston combined.

In 30 days, firefighters have battled more than 500 blazes, Cal Fire said.

Business Standard

California wildfire: 50 dead, thousands of firefighters battle blazes

With hundreds of people unaccounted for, the toll is likely to rise in California.

Business Standard : Thousands of firefighters battled blazes in northern and southern California on Tuesday as body recovery teams searched the remains of houses and charred cars for victims of the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US state.

At least 50 deaths have been reported statewide so far from the late-season wildfires, and with hundreds of people unaccounted for, the toll is likely to rise.

Most of the fatalities have been caused by the so-called "Camp Fire" in and around the town of Paradise, population 26,000, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Sacramento.

"Today an additional six human remains were recovered, which brings the total to 48. All six of those remains were located in Paradise, and they were located within homes," Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.

Another two deaths have been reported from the "Woolsey Fire," north of Los Angeles.

Paradise, which is home to many retirees and has experienced an unusually dry fall, was virtually razed to the ground by the fast-moving "Camp Fire" blaze.

Residents have recounted harrowing tales of fleeing the fires on foot with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Others escaped by driving through tunnels of smoke and fire as flames licked at their vehicles on gridlocked roads dotted with abandoned cars.

Melissa Schuster, a member of the Paradise town council, told ABC News that the entire town "is a toxic wasteland right now." "We have teams -- you know, coroner teams -- that have to go house to house and vehicle to vehicle," Schuster told ABC.

The "Camp Fire," which erupted on Thursday, has ravaged 130,000 acres (50,600 hectares) of land and is 35 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Butte County, where the blaze is located, has seen less than an inch of rainfall in more than 30 weeks.

The "Camp Fire" has destroyed more than 6,500 homes and 260 commercial properties. Battling the blaze are more than 5,600 fire personnel, some from as far away as Washington state and Texas.

The "Woolsey Fire," which also began on Thursday, has razed 97,114 acres (39,300 hectares) and has been 40 percent contained.

Cal Fire said more than 3,500 fire personnel were battling the "Woolsey Fire." "We're starting to get a handle on this fire," said Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department in an online briefing.

"I'm not feeling nearly the amount of wind and it's a little bit cooler this morning." The "Woolsey Fire" has destroyed 435 structures including the 100-year-old Paramount Ranch where HBO's "Westworld" and other popular television shows and movies were filmed.... Read More