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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES' DEATH TOLL JUMPS TO 25 WITH 110 STILL MISSING AFTER THE TOWN OF PARADISE IS INCINERATED AS MOBLE DNA TEAMS ARE ARE BROUGHT IN TO ID REMAINS AND 250K ARE EVACUATED ACROSS THE STATE

Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

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11-2-18

  • A total of 23 bodies have now been found in Northern California after Camp Fire tore through Paradise 
  • Officials have called in five coroner teams and forensic anthropologists to continue grim search for remains
  • Department of Justice mobile DNA lab arrives to assist identifying remains, some just bone fragments
  • Camp Fire is most destructive fire in California history and may have started from electric line malfunction
  • In Southern California, two bodies were found badly burned in a car in Malibu driveway in Woolsey Fire 
  • Malibu, Calabasas and the Topanga Canyon were evacuated on Friday as Woolsey and Hill Fires approached
  • The fires have torched nearly 75,000 acres in Southern California since igniting on Thursday afternoon  
  • The three fires fueled by another strong burst of Santa Ana winds are expected to rage through the weekend
  • President Trump approved an emergency declaration on Friday sending federal funds to California 

The death toll in California's raging wildfires has risen to 23.

On Saturday, 14 additional bodies were found in Northern California, while the first two casualties were confirmed in Southern California.

That brings the death toll of the northern Camp Fire, which raced through the town of Paradise, to 23, making it the third deadliest fire in California history. Only the Griffith Park Fire in 1933 and Tunnel Fire in 1991 have claimed more lives.

The Camp Fire is already the most destructive fire in the state's history, after destroying at least 6,713 buildings, the vast majority of them homes.

Of the newly discovered bodies, four were found in the community of Concow - two in cars and two in houses. 

Another 10 bodies were found in Paradise on Saturday - seven in homes and three outside homes.

The Camp Fire death toll is only feared to rise, with at least 110 missing persons reports still pending with the Butte County Sheriff's Office. Authorities have four coroner search and recovery teams combing through the remains of Paradise, which was nearly totally destroyed when a fire raged through the town on Thursday and Friday. 

The Department of Justice mobile DNA lab has been dispatched to the area to help identify remains by comparing them to genetic samples from family members. The California State Chico anthropology team has also been called in to assist.

'In some cases, the only remains we are able to recover are bones or bone fragments,' said Butte County Sheriff Kory L Honea.

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The Camp Fire is seen incinerating the Northern California town of Paradise on Thursday, as it raced through the town with little notice. Officials say the death toll in the fire is now 23, making it the third deadliest in California history

The Camp Fire is seen incinerating the Northern California town of Paradise on Thursday, as it raced through the town with little notice. Officials say the death toll in the fire is now 23, making it the third deadliest in California history

Yuba and Butte County Sheriff deputies carry a body bag with a deceased victim during the Camp fire in Paradise, California

Yuba and Butte County Sheriff deputies carry a body bag with a deceased victim during the Camp fire in Paradise, California

Deputies carry a body bag with a deceased victim who perished during the Camp Fire in Paradise, California

Deputies carry a body bag with a deceased victim who perished during the Camp Fire in Paradise, California

A Butte County Sheriff deputy places yellow tape at the scene where human remains were found during the Camp Fire

A Butte County Sheriff deputy places yellow tape at the scene where human remains were found during the Camp Fire

Sheriff's deputies recover the remains of Camp Fire victims on Saturday in Paradise, California

Sheriff's deputies recover the remains of Camp Fire victims on Saturday in Paradise, California

Yuba and Butte County sherriff deputies collect the human remains of victim of the Camp Fire on Saturday in Paradise. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the rapidly spreading Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise

Yuba and Butte County sherriff deputies collect the human remains of victim of the Camp Fire on Saturday in Paradise. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the rapidly spreading Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise

Yuba and Butte County Sheriff deputies retrieve remains of a deceased victim from a home during the Camp Fire in Paradise

Yuba and Butte County Sheriff deputies retrieve remains of a deceased victim from a home during the Camp Fire in Paradise

Yuba County Sheriff officers carry a body away from a burned residence in Paradise, California on Saturday

Yuba County Sheriff officers carry a body away from a burned residence in Paradise, California on Saturday

The Camp Fire is seen racing through Paradise on Thursday. Residents had little to no notice of the fire which moved rapidly

The Camp Fire is seen racing through Paradise on Thursday. Residents had little to no notice of the fire which moved rapidly

Smoke from the Camp Fire blankets Northern California in this satellite image from 10.10pm EST on Saturday. Paradise, which was incinerated in the fire, is to the east of Chico on the map

Smoke from the Camp Fire blankets Northern California in this satellite image from 10.10pm EST on Saturday. Paradise, which was incinerated in the fire, is to the east of Chico on the map

The map above shows the three major fires currently alight burning in California, two in the south and one in the north

The map above shows the three major fires currently alight burning in California, two in the south and one in the north

 
 
 
 

Sheriff Honea said that his department had received 508 calls for service from friends and family trying to locate missing loved ones, though he added that some of the calls were duplicates for the same person.

Of those, Honea said that 110 missing persons requests remained pending on Saturday.

In the Camp Fire burn zone, there have been 53 reports of suspected looting, though no arrests have been made.

'If we discover looting and evidence of looting we will continue to investigate,' said Honea, vowing to track down looters even if they escape the scene.

Meanwhile in Southern California, two casualties were reported on Friday as well.

Police say the two bodies were discovered 'severely burned inside of a stopped vehicle' on a long driveway in a sparsely populated stretch of Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Saturday, after the Woolsey Fire tore through the area, forcing half a million people to evacuate.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Chief John Benedict declined to offer additional details about the fatalities pending an official investigation. 

On Saturday evening, President Donald Trump issued condolences to the victims - 15 hours after threatening to cut off federal funds if state officials did not address 'gross mismanagement of the forests'.

'Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated, and the families of the 11 who have died. The destruction is catastrophic. God Bless them all,' Trump wrote.

At around 2am ET, while traveling in Paris, Trump had previously written: 

'There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!'

Earlier on Saturday the Los Angeles Times reported that evacuees were being turned away from overflowing shelters while firefighters continued their tireless efforts to bring the infernos under control.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said the 'extreme, tough fire conditions' have been worse than the emergency crews 'have never seen in their life', while residents describe the situation as 'hell'. 

Communities across Ventura and Los Angeles counties including the city of Malibu, Calabasas and the Topanga Canyon area were placed under evacuation orders on Friday as the Woolsey and Hill fires razed countless buildings and homes to the ground.

SEE VIDEO

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6376321/California-wildfires-death-toll-rises-25-110-missing.html