71 dead, 1000+ missing

[uppityperson]

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/fires-in-california-camp-woolsey-paradise-wildfire-evacuations-death-toll-map-2018-11-16-latest/

More than 1,000 people unaccounted for in California wildfires

The death toll from the Camp Fire in northern California increased to 71 people while 1,011 people are unaccounted for, the Butte County Sheriff said Friday. Sheriff Kory Honea cautioned the list is "dynamic" and will fluctuate.


Firefighters gained ground against the two deadly California wildfires on Friday but residents in northern parts of the state faced a new threat: the dirtiest air quality levels in the world.

Rain could help knock down the flames Tuesday evening but officials said it could also complicate efforts to find human remains. In some cases, search crews were finding little more than bones and bone fragments.

The "Camp Fire" all but leveled the town of Paradise and heavily damaged the outlying communities of Magalia and Concow on November 8, destroying 9,700 houses and 144 apartment buildings. It was 45 percent contained as of Friday evening and posed no immediate threat to populated areas....(more)

[Control-Z]

1. My heart breaks over every new report I hear.

It just keeps getting worse. The way these poor souls died is horrifying and makes me think of the people on the floors above the fire in the twin towers. Some chose to jump rather than burn.

I can't stop thinking about families in their cars trying to get away. Staying in their cars was the better choice for some. But for others it was deadly. I can't let myself think too deeply.

[whathehell]

3. I've been having the same thoughts and feelings

It's horrible.

[brush]

8. More roads have to be build in and out of those isolated towns.

People getting caught in their cars on clogged exit roads is so horrifying.

[diva77]

2. not sure where I heard/read it , but apparently Camp fire travelled 80 football fields per minute

initially. Would appreciate link to that info. if anyone has read it somewhere...

[Brother Buzz]

4. Area, not distance

It burned an area equivalent to the size of 60 football fields every minute. Other accounts were saying 80 acres per minute! Wrap you head around THAT!

[diva77]

5. Thanks for clarification. Unfathomable

[catchnrelease]

6. It was bad

Yesterday on the radio the fire was being discussed and someone 'official' said that at some points it was moving at 60 miles/hour! I couldn't believe it, but I know those winds were really wild. Sorry I don't have any kind of link, it was on the local public radio station here in SoCal in the morning. (Had to be on KPCC and probably the Take Two show) No one would have a chance under those conditions.

[peggysue2]

7. The number of missing is staggering

Because the real fear is that these people have been lost. From what I've read the temperature of the the sweeping fires literally cremated many victims, so their remains may never be identified. The fire season has increased exponentially in California and areas of the Southwest (I heard one journalist say it's now a full 8 months year in CA) with no end in sight because of little rain and that forbidden phrase: Climate Change.

We're up against an existential threat--fires, devastating flooding, rising sea levels, etc. Denying the reality will not end well. For Anyone. Though the Merchants of Doubt keep spinning their wheels as hard as they can peddle. To the detriment of the planet and every living creature on it.

[brush]

10. I'm thinking maybe there should be some rethinking on rebuilding...

these towns surrounded by forests now that climate change and drought are such an increased danger.

And now that the fires have destroy the trees and ground cover, mudslides will come next—seems it's a tragic, endless cycle.

[peggysue2]

11. The same applies to coastal areas

I grew up (spent all my childhood summers) at the Jersey Shore. We all witnessed what happened with the last Gulf hurricane; Mexico Beach was literally washed away. I was in NC right after Florence ripped through, leaving most of the state under water. The damage was horrific.

So yes, it is a tragic cycle that's only getting worse.

[xor]

9. I heard some dispatch recordings from around the time it started.

They had people who were surrounded and trying to find ways to get them out. Not sure if they got them out of not. Hopefully many of those 1k people just haven't got a chance to reach out to their families and authorities.

[nitpicker]

12. Link to DW

https://www.dw.com/en/more-than-1000-missing-in-california-fires/a-46337162

[nitpicker]

13. From one local news outlet

https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/CAL-FIRE-Butte-County--500045591.html

UPDATE 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 - The Camp Fire is 146,000 acres in size and is now 50 percent contained.

Officials announced that the Camp Fire has the largest deployment of Search & Rescue personnel ever amassed in the state of California.

Though 329 people have been accounted for (an increase of 101 since Thursday), there are now 1011 people on the missing person list.

Butte County Sheriff/Coroner Kory Honea says Thursday night there have been 71 fatalities so far due to the Camp Fire. Seven more sets of remains were discovered Friday in Paradise, and one more in Magalia. The remains of all eight were discovered inside structures.
(snip)

12,263 structures have been destroyed due to the Camp Fire. 368 stuctures were damaged. This includes 9,700 homes and 336 businesses that were destroyed.
(snip)

[uppityperson]

19. Thank you for local news articles and links

Iti is mine bogling

[malaise]

14. There are no words

[Achilleaze]

15. The KGOP republican misleader will sieze this gold opportunity

to claim once again that he got a big crowd to turn out for his inauguration. That's his favorite republican lie.

[smirkymonkey]

16. How horrifying!

I can't even imagine what a nightmare it must be for the people out there. Those fighting the fires must be exhausted and overwhelmed. I just hope it ends soon for everyone's sake. My condolences to those people and families who have lost loved ones and property.

[Hortensis]

17. More stunning every day. My sister lives in those same

Sierra foothills in a much smaller community not that far away as birds fly, with one 2-lane highway passing through.

Because of climate change, the 26,000 people of Paradise now lived amid thousands of dead and dying trees from climate change effects. Add in several years of drought due to climate change.

They worried, but nothing like this had ever happened before. At one point with high winds the Paradise fire was spreading the length of a football field in 2 seconds. Another measurement at another time was spreading 80 football fields a minute. No one still there could escape that.

This is an early warning for the rest of the nation. Regional conditions are different, but this kind of thing can happen wherever there are drought and fuel -- such as that provided by cities and suburbs. We used to live between 2 close mountain ranges in Los Angeles. I knew the fires we saw on the mountains could theoretically reach us through hundreds of homes but felt it would never happen. The people of Paradise felt it could but wouldn't happen.

Here in the SE, much of our beautiful northern GA forest is expected to die and transition to southern GA piney forest, slower than the evergreens and walnuts of the Sierra Nevada but still ending up as unimaginable supply of tinder -- beyond extreme fire load. We live in those beautiful woods and have already spent thousands taking the dead pines out.

[oasis]

18. Sad beyond belief. nt