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Over 600 people missing in California after devastating wildfires

The number of people reported missing after the devastating wildfires in California has more than...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.46 16 Nov 2018


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Over 600 people missing in Cal...

Over 600 people missing in California after devastating wildfires

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.46 16 Nov 2018


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The number of people reported missing after the devastating wildfires in California has more than doubled to 631.

Officials say seven more bodies have been found - with at least 65 people killed in total.

The blaze in northern California has destroyed nearly 12,000 buildings, including around 10,000 homes.

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Entire neighbourhoods have been devastated by the Camp Fire, which is now said to be the deadliest in the state's history with a death toll of at least 63 people.

Two others have been killed in a separate blaze in Southern California.

The number of people on the official list of those whose whereabouts and fate remain unknown jumped from 297 to 631 over the course of a day.

Explaining the new figure, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said: "I want you to understand that the chaos we were dealing with was extraordinary.

"I want you to understand there are a lot of people displaced, and we're finding that a lot of people don't know we are looking for them - that's why we're publishing this list."

A buck wanders a burned out neighbourhood in Paradise, California, 15-11-2018. Image:  Noah Berger/AP/Press Association Images

US President Donald Trump is due to visit the State this Saturday – after appearing to blame State officials for the tragedy last weekend.

President Trump tweeted last weekend: "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor."

Rescue workers have been combing through the charred ruins of the northern California town of Paradise a week after it was burned to the ground.

Authorities said the high number of fatalities could be blamed on the staggering speed at which the fire ripped through the town of 27,000 people.

Authorities fear some elderly residents may have been left behind in the panic.

A cadaver dog searches for victims in Paradise, California, 15-11-2018. Image: Noah Berger/AP/Press Association Images

At least 22 cadaver dogs have been helping with the search.

More than 9,000 firefighters from across the country, using more than 1,000 engines, have been battling the blazes around the state.

More than 200,000 left their homes to escape the blaze, including the entire seaside community of Malibu.

Classes have been cancelled for tens of thousands of university students as smoke drifts south, polluting the air in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area.

Volunteer rescue workers search for human remains in the rubble of homes burned in the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. Picture by: Terry Chea/AP/Press Association Images

Additional reporting by Stephen McNeice


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