The Camp Fire in Northern California has claimed 42 lives, becoming the deadliest in the U.S. history.
An additional 13 sets of human remains were discovered today in Northern California, bringing the death toll from the Camp Fire to 42, the sheriff of Butte County, Kory Honea, said.
Meanwhile, firefighters made progress Monday in containing the Camp Fire, which razed the town of Paradise, where most of the dead have been found. Harrowing stories of escapes and close calls are trickling out of the region, CNN reported.
In some areas of the state, rescue efforts have turned into cleanup and recovery as residents return to what's left of their gutted homes in neighborhoods littered with charred remains of cars, trees and buildings.
U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday approved a request for a Major Disaster Declaration that will provide the state with federal resources.
"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," Trump tweeted. "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!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
More than 52,000 have been evacuated and 1,385 are in shelters due to the Camp Fire. It has scorched more than 117,000 acres of Northern California, and destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including 6,453 single-family residences. As of Monday night, it was about 30% contained.
In Southern California, 57,000 structures are threatened by the Woolsey Fire. It has burned more than 93,000 acres, killed two people and destroyed at least 435 structures. As of Monday, it was about 30% contained.
The Hill Fire covered 4,531 acres and was 85% contained by Monday night.
The death toll is rising as California state regulators investigate two utility companies that reported incidents close in time and location to the start of the Camp and Woolsey fires.
In Southern California, where the Woolsey Fire began Thursday afternoon in unincorporated Ventura County, SoCal Edison reported that a circuit relayed out of the Chatsworth Substation about two minutes before the blaze broke out. The incident location in the report appears to be the same as CalFire's location for the fire's origin. But it's not clear how close they actually are to each other.
