California wildfires: death toll climbs to 65
More than 600 people now reported missing in deadliest blazes in state’s history
The death toll from the two wildfires sweeping through California has risen to 65, according to latest figures from US authorities.
Most of the victims died in Northern California’s Camp Fire, which has destroyed thousands of buildings. A separate fire in Woolsey, in the south of the state, has claimed two lives.
The “painstaking process of finding the missing and identifying the dead is challenging, with some of the bodies recovered burned beyond recognition”, CNN reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, cooler weather has “helped fire crews gain ground” against the wildfire, CBS News reports.
The number of missing has soared to 631 since the fires broke out just over a week ago, although CNN says that some of the names on the Butte County missing persons list “appear more than once”.
Officials have said that it is “hard to determine the number of missing, because some people may have evacuated and can't be reached with cell phone service unreliable due to the fire”.
So far this year, an area larger than Belgium and Luxembourg has burned in California, the BBC reports.
The small town of Paradise bore the brunt of the Camp Fire blaze. “Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it’s that kind of devastation,” said California Fire Captain Scott McLean.
The latest wildfires, the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history, have forced at least 300,000 Californians to flee their homes. Celebrities Neil Young, Robin Thicke and Gerard Butler were among those who lost their homes, while Lada Gaga and Kim Kardashian West were forced to evacuate.
Tests have confirmed an outbreak of norovirus at a shelter housing some of the people who fled. The highly contagious virus can cause diarrhoea, fever and body aches.
The White House has announced that Donald Trump will travel to California tomorrow to meet with wildfire victims. No other details were provided about the president's trip.
Trump has previously threatened to withhold federal aid for California, blaming the fires on "poor" forest management. A spokesman for state Governor Jerry Brown called Trump’s comments “inane and uninformed” and said climate change was largely to blame for the blazes.
Meanwhile, US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said that fighting massive wildfires was "not a Republican or Democrat issue", adding: "It's unsustainable to have this happen year after year or have a season like this where you have hundred-thousand-acre fires becoming routine.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Band Aid 40: time to change the tune?
In the Spotlight Band Aid's massively popular 1984 hit raised around £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the charity has generated over £140m in total
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Starmer vs the farmers: who will win?
Today's Big Question As farmers and rural groups descend on Westminster to protest at tax changes, parallels have been drawn with the miners' strike 40 years ago
By The Week UK Published
-
How secure are royal palaces?
The Explainer Royal family's safety is back in the spotlight after the latest security breach at Windsor
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published