Rain helps douse Camp Fire but slows searchers still looking for human remains
PARADISE — The catastrophic wildfire in Northern California is nearly out after several days of rain, but searchers are still completing the meticulous task of combing through now-muddy ash and debris for signs of human remains.
As of Saturday morning, the Camp Fire remained at 153,336 acres with 95 percent of the wildfire contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Crews hope to have it fully contained by Friday.
The 5 percent of the fireline that was uncontained was in steep and rugged terrain that was unsafe for firefighters to reach during the earlier, heavy rains.
Firefighters have built an indirect control line in that area and will make an assessment if a direct line is necessary when it's safe to do so.
On Saturday, the number of fire personnel was down to 1,268 with 102 engines, four water tenders, two helicopters,13 hand crews and three dozers.
Meanwhile, crews resumed the grim work Saturday as rain cleared out of the devastated town of Paradise. Some were looking through destroyed neighborhoods for a second time as hundreds of people remain unaccounted for. They were searching for telltale fragments or bone or anything that looks like a pile of cremated ashes.
The nation's deadliest wildfire in a century has killed at least 84 people, and 475 are on a list of those reported missing. The flames ignited Nov. 8 in the parched Sierra Nevada foothills and quickly spread across 240 square miles, destroying most of Paradise in a day.
The cause of the blaze hasn't been determined although investigators are looking into a Pacific Gas & Electric high-voltage power line within the fire area.
The fire burned down nearly 19,000 buildings, including 13,954 homes, and displaced thousands of people, Cal Fire said. Some 514 commercial buildings were destroyed along with 4,265 other buildings, Cal Fire said.
The two-week firefight got a boost Wednesday from the first significant winter-like storm to hit California. It dropped an estimated 7 inches of rain over the burn area over a three-day period without causing significant mudslides, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley of the National Weather Service.
The rain helped extinguish hotspots in smoldering areas, and containment increased to 95 percent. Despite the inclement weather, more than 800 volunteers kept searching for remains.
Crews worked on-and-off amid a downpour Friday. While the rain made everybody colder and wetter, they kept the mission in mind, said Chris Stevens, a search volunteer who wore five layers of clothing to keep warm.
"It doesn't change the spirits of the guys working," he said. "Everyone here is super committed to helping the folks here."
In Southern California, more residents have returned to areas evacuated in a destructive fire as crews repaired power, telephone and gas utilities.
Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said they were in the last phase of repopulating Malibu and unincorporated areas of the county. At the height of the fire, 250,000 fled their homes.
Flames erupted Nov. 8 just west of Los Angeles and burned through suburban communities and wilderness parklands to the ocean. Three people died, and 1,643 buildings, most of them homes, were destroyed, officials said.
In Northern California, searchers tried to keep their minds on the task rather than the tragic situation.
"The guys will never say it's hard," crew member David Kang said. "But it is."
Associated Press journalists Olga Rodriguez and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed.
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