PARADISE (CBS SF) — The Butte County Sheriff announced Monday night that the death toll from the Camp Fire has risen to 42 after crews confirmed an additional 13 lives lost during their search for the missing.

The announcement came during regional officials’ 6 p.m. update on the Camp Fire.

Officials also said that the fire had grown to 117,000 acres with containment at 30 percent. The total number of single-family residences that were destroyed in the fire rose to 6,453 structures with 36 homes damaged.

Additionally, fire officials determined that 74 multiple residence buildings were destroyed with 11 of those types of structures damaged.

The total number of structures destroyed by the Camp Fire rose to 7,177.

A total of 52,000 residents have been evacuated due to the fire. Currently there are over 13,000 people being housed in shelters.

Earlier Monday, search teams returned to the historic devastation left by the wildfire that ripped through the communities of Paradise, Concow, Magalia and other smaller clusters of homes, incinerating everything in its fiery path.

Among those hoping and praying for word that their loved ones had been found safe was Ted Woods.

“Two of my friends are missing,” Woods said with his voice choking with emotion. “One out of Magalia and one out of Paradise. And I’m hoping it ain’t one of the body counts.”

Pam Mosher is searching for her daughter and son-in-law.

“It gets worse every day,” Mosher said as she held of photos of his missing relatives. “You try to tell yourself it’s going to be okay, you really don’t feel that way.”

Jake Hancock, who is a District Attorney Investigator in Butte County, is a member of a search team shifting through the rubble of burned down homes in Paradise, looking for human remains.

“We’re just going door to door, house to house,” he told KPIX 5. “Looking for families loved ones that are missing.”

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea put the number of missing at 228. The remains of 29 victims have been recovered, 25 of those in the town of Paradise.

The human toll has equaled the highest number of deaths in a single wildfire in California history matching the grim toll of the 1933 Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles.
• How To Help Victims Of Camp Fire In Butte County
• First Responders Who Lost Homes In Camp Fire Still Report For Duty
• Remember The Five “Ps” Of Wildfire Evacuations

Ten search teams were working in Paradise — a town of 27,000 — and in surrounding communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Authorities have called in a DNA lab and teams of anthropologists to help identify victims and asked families of those missing for DNA samples.

While President Donald Trump has blamed state forestry policies for the tragedy, outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters Sunday that global climate change was the culprit.

“We don’t know the cause of this fire, and the town of Paradise certainly had a lot of preparation, but we’re dealing with existential conditions that, once they take off, certain amount of dryness in the vegetation, in the soil, in the air, and the winds get up 50-60 miles an hour — this is what happens,” Brown said.

“But, managing all the forest in every way we can does not stop climate change, and those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we’re now witnessing, and will continue to witness in the coming years.”

Amid the ruins of Paradise on Sunday, there was a small bit of joy to celebrate. A member of Hancock’s search team found a scared and slightly singed family cat alive.

“I don’t usually get to recovery anything that’s alive,” said Vicky Vincent with the Shasta County Coroner’s Office. “It’s nice to be able to save something.”

And there were several joyful reunions on Sunday including John Warner, who had pleaded for any word of his grandparents during a TV interview.

“(I) Just hope that somebody is watching that’s seen them,” he asked. Moments later, his phone range, his grandfather had made it out of the deadly flames and was safe in a shelter.

A short time later he stood with his grandfather outside a Chico church that was serving as an evacuation center.

“We found you,” Warner said hugging his grandfather. “The lady that worked here (called) and said — ‘I know where they are art, they are over at the church.”

The shelters — like the one in Chico — have taken in thousands of evacuees who have lost their homes. The fire has destroyed more than 6,700 structures, most of them homes, becoming the most destruction in terms of loss of residences in state history.

Shelter volunteer Tim Wall said the system is being strained to its limits. He issued a plea for help Sunday.

“We’re so thankful for how the community has come together,” Wall said. “It’s been a major blessing. But this isn’t a one-day thing. This is long-term and we have to think that way. So food is going to continue to run out, so will supplies. We keep needing that. We definitely need medical supplies and medical professionals. A lot of our elderly are on oxygen and that’s running out quickly.”

In the Bay Area, the massive plume of smoke and ash driven western by the upper level winds continued to drape a layer of unhealthy air over the region early Monday.

The air quality indexes for several cities were among the worst in the world. San Francisco and Oakland had an AQI level of 166, Concord was at 161, San Pablo 168 and Livermore 174.

Local officials have issued an air quality advisory for the region, warning residents to limit their outdoor exposure.

Meanwhile, NFL officials were monitoring the pollution levels in Santa Cara. If the AQI reaches 200, Monday night’s San Francisco 49ers-New York Giants game could be cancelled.</s>If viewing on the ABC10 app, click here for multimedia

The town of Paradise was one of the communities devastated by the Camp Fire.

Prior to their community meeting, Paradise town manager Lauren Gill reached to Paradise residents through social media. Here's what she said:

"Paradise...It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to all who have lost so much during the Camp Fire. There is so much devastation. Much of the physical aspect of our Town is gone, but our spirit remains," wrote Gill.

"We will be forever changed by this tragedy and it will always be a part of the Town's history. A tragedy like this also changes us as individuals. I hope it makes me a stronger, better, more compassionate person. I am humbled by the heroic stories I am hearing about survival and hope. Although right now we are all heartbroken as we slowly realize the depth of our losses, we are also hopeful for tomorrow. Each step of our recovery will be long and arduous but we are strong and we love our community. We will get through this together and make Paradise better, safer and stronger."

RELATED: "California Wildfires: The New Normal" is ABC10's new 9-part series on how wildfires are changing lives across Northern California

In a press conference, Sheriff Kory Honea updated the total amount of unaccounted for individuals to 228. This raises the number by more than a hundred from Cal OES Director Mark Ghilarducci’s estimate at 4 p.m. According to the sheriff, his office continues to get calls regarding missing persons due to the Camp Fire.

His office has been able to locate 107 people after receiving more than 550 calls regarding missing persons. Other calls are still being investigated, and shelters are being contacted to verify whether some individual unaccounted for are located there.

Sheriff Honea also confirmed that an additional 6 deaths from the fire, bringing the death toll to 29. He added that five of these individuals were in homes and one was in vehicle. With the number of deaths, the Camp Fire has matched the deadliest wildfire on record in California history.

CAL FIRE spokesman Steve Kaufmann says that the number of destroyed structures is expected increase significantly.

“We anticipate that number will increase significantly. I want to stress that there was major fire devastation in that perimeter of the fire,” said Kaufmann.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea has updated the total amount of fatalities from the Camp Fire to 29. 6 additional fatalities were confirmed by the sheriff at a press conference.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea has updated the total amount of unaccounted for individuals in the Camp Fire to 228.

California Gov. Jerry Brown says now is a time for Californians to pull together as they face catastrophic fires at both ends of the state.

The Democratic governor, a climate change evangelist, stressed at a Sunday press conference that wildfires have become more ferocious because of severe drought and climate change.

Brown says this "new abnormal" will only get worse over the next 10 to 20 years, threatening California's entire way of life.

The governor was asked about a tweet by President Donald Trump blaming poor forest management. Brown says forest management is only one element in tackling wildfire.

He also noted that the federal government has "more land than the state government."

The governor says he would be willing to bring home National Guard troops from the border to help with fires if they're needed.

The Camp Fire is now up to 111,000 acres burned, is 25 percent contained, and has resulted in 23 fatalities.

Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said the Camp Fire in northern California is one of the major fires currently going on in the state. He added that every available firefighting aircraft in the country is available to California and they are using those resources to their fullest extent to battle California's wildfires.

"We're in this for the long haul. Again, we have firefighters deployed throughout the state working with many, many partners and will continue to do that until these conditions subside," Pimlott said.

According to California Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci, there are still about 100 people left unaccounted for in Butte County due to the Camp Fire. However, officials are still working to account for all the people impacted by the Camp Fire who may be in places other than shelters.

In the days since a ferocious, wind-whipped wildfire began tearing through this Northern California town, residents who stayed behind to try to save their property or who managed to get back to their neighborhoods despite mandatory evacuation orders found cars incinerated and homes reduced to rubble. They have tales of harrowing escape and struggling to cope with loss.

Oroville businesswoman Tracy Grant has taken in a 93-year-old World War II veteran who doesn't know if his home in Paradise is still standing after a deadly wildfire swept through.

Grant said Sunday she was handing out hamburgers to evacuees Thursday at the Forebay Aquatic Center, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Paradise, when she encountered Lee Brundige in his car.

He initially refused the hamburger she offered, saying she should give it to someone who really needed it. She tried to get him to a shelter, but he said he was fine sleeping in his car.

The next day, she convinced him to come home with her when the sheriff's office told people to clear out of the parking lot due to worsening air.

"He looks at me and kind of grunted, 'No I don't want to take advantage of anyone, you're too kind.' So I said, 'This is my car. You're going to follow that bumper until we stop," she said.

Her small dog Axle has kept Brundige company in the recliner they share. Grant says Brundige's son knows he's safe but she posted his father's photo on social media so his friends know too.

A Northern California businesswoman has taken in a 93-year-old World War II veteran who doesn't know if his home in Paradise is still standing after a deadly wildfire swept through.

Tracy Grant encountered Lee Brundige while she was handing out hamburgers to evacuees at the Forebay Aquatic Center in Oroville, which is about 20 miles south of Paradise.

She says she convinced a reluctant Brundige to follow her home after sheriff's deputies told people to clear out of the parking lot because of the smoke and worsening air quality.

Grant's boyfriend, Josh Fox, brought home bags of new clothes for Brundige. Her small dog Axle keeps Brundige company in the recliner they share.

Brundige lived alone. His son in Southern California knows his father is OK.

One of the Northern California fire's victims was an ailing woman whose body was found in bed in a burned-out house in Concow, near Paradise.

Ellen Walker, who was in her early 70s, was home alone when the fire struck on Thursday, according to Nancy Breeding, a family friend.

Breeding said Walker's husband was at work and called a neighbor to tell his wife to evacuate, but she was on medication and might not have been alert. He assumed she had escaped the inferno and was trying to find her at rescue centers until authorities confirmed her death late Friday.

"Yesterday a fireman took him to the house to confirm, she apparently died in bed," Breeding said.

"This is a devastating thing, and it's happening to so many people," she added.

Anyone 18 years and under will be able to get a free meal from Chico Unified's Nutrition Services Department. Two sites will be opened at Little Chico Creek and Chapman Elementary School on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Little Chico Creek is located at 2090 Amanda Way, Chico, CA 95928, and Chapman Elementary School is located at 1071 16th St, Chico, CA 95928.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office has activated a Missing Persons Call Center so people can receive information about missing persons from the Camp Fire.

Operating hours will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

To report friends or family that you believe are missing due to the Camp Fire call:

The sheriff's office suggests making calls to the center even if the friend or family member has already been reported. Detectives can give information on the case's status and other details. The line can also be used to reported a located missing person as well.

Union officials say at least 39 firefighters lost their homes as they tried to protect thousands of others from two deadly California wildfires.

International Association of Fire Fighters state service representative Tim Aboudara said Sunday that dozens of other firefighters' homes likely also burned.

Officials have confirmed that 36 firefighters' homes were among thousands destroyed in Northern California, most when the Sierra Foothills city of Paradise was leveled. Three are confirmed lost in a Southern California blaze south of Simi Valley.

The confirmed losses affect more than 110 family members and 75 pets. But all are believed to have escaped with their lives.

Most worked for the state's firefighting agency, but some for the city of Chico and one who commuted to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Caltrans has been ensure the first responders in the field are supplied as they combat the Camp Fire. Agencies from around the region and up and down the state have been helping with the wildfire.

The Northern California sheriff overseeing search and rescue in a deadly wildfire says he feels guilty and blessed that his family is safe while others are mourning the loss of homes and family.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a press briefing Sunday that he is personally invested in anguished searches for missing family, including many who are frail and older.

Honea said he would update numbers on the dead, which was 23 as of Saturday, later Sunday. The Camp Fire is the third-deadliest fire on record in California and the death toll appeared likely to rise.

Relatives are trying to locate more than 100 people who are missing.

Honea said investigators can't reach neighborhoods where there is active fire or downed power.

While people collect themselves at the evacuation shelter, Ted Land spots some kindness from Jose Uriarte as he hands out food to people at the shelter from his food truck.

Hazards surround the area for public safety personnel at the Camp Fire.

According to the CAL FIRE Butte Unit, evacuations can't be lifted and no citizens will be able to access to the town until it is safe.

Sol Bechtold is driving shelter to shelter searching for his 75-year-old mother, who remains missing after her house burned down in Magalia, just north of Paradise, in Northern California.

Bechtold made a flyer with a photo of his mother, Joanne Caddy, which he posted on social media and was pinning to bulletin boards at shelters, and showing to displaced people there.

He found some of her neighbors, but they had not seen Caddy since the fire. Most had been working when the fire hit last week, and were unable to make it back to their neighborhood because roads were closed amid the advancing flames, Bechtold said in a telephone interview.

Caddy and her husband had moved to Magalia, a former gold-mining camp, from Fremont, California, in the Bay Area, 30 years ago.

Sacramento's air quality index is registering at "very unhealthy" levels.

Both the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and the Sacramento County Public Health department are advising residents to take precautions. If you see or smell the smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County, they suggest minimizing outdoor activity. If you have to go outdoors, it is suggested you get a respiratory mask.

Recommendations include staying indoors and keep doors and windows close as much as possible; children, the elderly, and those with respiratory issues should especially be careful to avoid exposure.

A celebrated 132-year-old Gold Rush-era wooden footbridge in Butte County is among the losses from a devastating Northern California wildfire.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 238-foot (73-meter) Honey Run Covered Bridge near Chico was leveled in the in the fire that ripped through the area late Thursday. All that's left are charred wooden beams, rippled sheet metal and red steel beams protruding from concrete.

The newspaper says it is the only three-span truss bridge of its kind in the United States.

It was the backdrop for countless wedding and other celebration photos over the years and in recent years had been used for movie nights.

The Honey Run Covered Bridge was listed on the Register of Historic Places and even had its own association to look after it.

Authorities say more than 8,000 firefighters are battling three large wildfires at both ends of California that have destroyed thousands of structures and killed 25.

About 397 square miles (795 square kilometers) of California is burning with the Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County being the largest.

The Camp Fire has killed 23 and is the third-deadliest wildfire on record in California.

The Woolsey Fire in Southern California has hit hard celebrity-studded Malibu as well as the city of Thousand Oaks, which was the site of a deadly shooting at a country music bar last week.

Weather conditions for fires are ripe, with strong winds continuing through Sunday in Northern California and through Tuesday in Southern California.

Firefighters from out of state continue to arrive to help.

RELATED: "California Wildfires: The New Normal" is ABC10's new 9-part series on how wildfires are changing lives across Northern California

California Gov. Jerry Brown is requesting a "major disaster declaration" from the president for the wildfires burning at both ends of the state. His office said in a statement Sunday that the declaration would bolster ongoing emergency assistance and help residents recover from fires burning in Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

If granted, the declaration would make individuals eligible for crisis counseling, housing and unemployment help, and legal aid.

The Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County has killed 23 people and is the third-deadliest on record in the state. The overall death toll from the outbreak of fires in California stood at 25 Sunday and appeared likely to rise.

Cal Fire reports that the Camp Fire has now burned 109,000 acres of land and is 25% contained. The fire is expected to be fully contained by November 30.

Firefighters battling the third-deadliest wildfire in California record fended off strong winds overnight and increased their handle on the blaze.

California fire spokesman David Clark said Sunday that the Camp Fire grew slightly to 170 square miles (440 square kilometers), from 164 square miles (425 square kilometers) Saturday night.

It is now 25 percent contained, up from 20 percent Saturday.

Clark says crews are at a "pivotal point" and that high winds and dry conditions similar to when the fire started Thursday are expected for the next 24 hours.

The fire has destroyed more than 6,700 buildings, nearly all of them homes, and killed 23 people.

A pair of fires burning in Southern California has killed two and 250,000 remain under evacuation orders.

RELATED: A glimpse of Paradise, before the fires

RELATED: Why is it called the Camp Fire? Here's how wildfires actually get their names

Authorities called in a mobile DNA lab and anthropologists to help identify the dead as the search went on for victims of the most destructive wildfire in California history. The death toll stood at 23 Sunday and appeared likely to climb.

With the town of Paradise reduced to a smoking ruin and the fire still raging in surrounding communities, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said the Northern California county was bringing in a fifth search and recovery team.

An anthropology team from California State University at Chico was also assisting, because in some cases "the only remains we are able to find are bones or bone fragments."

The department compiled a list of 110 people unaccounted for, but officials held out hope that many were safe but had no cellphones or some other way to contact loved ones.

RELATED: "California Wildfires: The New Normal" is ABC10's new 9-part series on how wildfires are changing lives across Northern California

Watch it now ... Episode 2: A cafe owner steps in to help when a Redding man faces an unspeakable tragedy in the aftermath of the Carr Fire:</s>BUTTE COUNTY — With 42 people dead, the Camp Fire roaring through Butte County has officially surpassed a grim marker by becoming the single most deadly and destructive fire in California’s history.

The number of people who have perished in the fire, current as of Monday night, is almost certain to rise as rescue and recovery workers sift through the ruins and ashes where houses and families once stood. An untold number of people remain missing and it could be days or weeks before their loved ones have answers. More than 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures have burned to the ground or been damaged beyond repair, leaving people shell-shocked and wondering how they will pick up the pieces.

Before the Camp Fire broke out Thursday morning, the state’s single deadliest fire occurred in 1933 in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park Fire, where 29 people working on trails and roads were overcome by flames whipping through a nearby canyon.

As of Monday night, the fire was 30 percent contained. A pair of fires in Southern California also continued to destroy homes — many of then owned by celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Neil Young — and businesses, and force evacuations.

Smoke lingered over the Bay Area and unhealthy air quality — expected to last at least through Friday — forced the cancellation of several local events, from high school football games to half marathons.

Now, even as residents of Paradise — a quiet town of around 26,000 almost entirely razed by the inferno — begin contemplating the future, the fire continues to tear through communities to the north and south, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.

Dozens of residents displaced by the fire huddled Monday at a Walmart parking lot, where people delivered donations of food, clothing and other supplies.

Aubrianna Hernandez, a junior at Chico High School, doesn’t know yet whether her family’s home in Paradise is still standing. But she decided to volunteer.

“I just kind of showed up,” Hernandez said. “I know there’s other people in worse conditions than me.”

Gwendolyn and Richard Gaskin moved from the East Coast in May and purchased a mobile home in Paradise just three days before the fire broke out.

“We don’t have nowhere to go at this point,” Gwendolyn said.

Preston Wrachford lost his home in Paradise and was also sifting through the donations in the lot.

“I was a mover and now I’m pretty sure I’m out of business,” Wrachford said.

Genesis Baker, his girlfriend, fears she is, too. Baker worked for her family’s landscaping business in Paradise.

“There’s nothing left to landscape,” she said. “My dad confirmed five of his contracts are gone. It was a small town to begin with. One of our customers paid us in casseroles.”

Not far away, Travis Crockett sat in his truck as his wife Robin waited with dozens of others to speak to insurance agents, who set up in a gravel parking lot in Chico.

The Crocketts lost their home on Winding Way in Paradise. “Our whole neighborhood is leveled,” Travis, 42, said. His brother-in-law, a U.S. Marshal, had early access to the decimated streets of the town and drove around snapping pictures of as many family members’ homes as possible. Most were gone.

For the next week, the Crocketts are staying at Motel 6 in Red Bluff, which Travis said is booked with other Paradise “refugees.”

As residents flee the area or hunker down, more than 5,000 fire crews from as far away as South Dakota are attempting to keep the fire from spreading into rugged terrain thick with vegetation to the north and tamping out fire west of Berry Creek to the south.

There’s a possibility the region could see some rainfall next week. While that would provide welcome relief to firefighters battling the blaze, it could also bring new challenges for people who rely on the Oroville Dam for drinking water.

“Contingencies are in place to ensure safety when it begins to rain. When the rain starts, we’ll be paying close attention to debris entering the lake and downstream rivers and will likely need to increase our water quality tests to ensure safety for recreation and water supply for urban/agricultural and environmental uses,” Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Water Resources, said in an email Monday.

While the official cause of the fire remains under investigation, state regulators are looking into PG&E, which reported malfunctions with electrical infrastructure near the source of the fire. On Monday, trading in PG&E was temporarily stopped as shares dropped significantly amid news the utility company may be responsible for the fire. Regulators are also looking into issues with Southern California Edison Company infrastructure, which also reported problems that may have contributed to a fire burning across Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s vice president in charge of fire safety efforts, said the company was working to restore power when safe and was working with first responders to turn off gas lines when needed. Sixty-one of PG&E’s own employees lost their homes in the blaze, he said.

In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire has burned more than 90,000 acres and was far from contained Monday evening. The blaze has claimed the lives of at least two people and destroyed more than 350 homes and businesses. Firefighters had a better handle on the Hill Fire, which ignited around the same time on Thursday afternoon not far from the Woolsey Fire. The Hill Fire was 80 percent contained Monday, having already scorched 4,531 acres and destroyed two structures.

On Monday, President Trump tweeted that he approved California’s request for a major disaster declaration, which will free up federal funding, and the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee said his party would ask for up to $720 million for wildfire relief.

“Withholding funds is not the solution, and we will fight for it,” Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont told reporters on a conference call, referring to a tweet from President Donald Trump blaming poor forest management for the firestorms and threatening to withhold federal help.

Closer to home, the San Francisco 49ers welcomed the Paradise High School football team to Levi’s Stadium for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants. Many of the high school players lost homes and the team was forced to forfeit their playoff game because of the fire. The 49ers will be matching fan donations to the North Valley Community Foundation, which is supporting fire victims.

In the meantime, officials in Butte County are trying to locate residents still missing. The sheriff’s office requested calls be made to a missing persons hotline even if they had already reported the person missing to the department. Detectives will advise callers on the status of their case and provide any additional details or, if necessary, offer instructions on how to submit a saliva sample for DNA analysis.

Some of the remains recovered are being sent to morgues in Sacramento County, where Butte County officials are working with the California Department of Justice’s DNA lab and teams of coroners’ investigators and anthropologists to identify the decedents. He had no estimate for how long that would take.

“We are very early in our efforts,” Honea said. “There is still a great deal of work to do.”</s>Holding out slim hope as crews search for more fire dead; 42 already killed in blaze

More than a dozen coroner search and recovery teams looked for human remains from a Northern California wildfire that killed at least 42 — making it the deadliest in state history — as anxious relatives visited shelters and called police hoping to find loved ones alive.

Lisa Jordan drove 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) from Yakima, Washington, to search for her uncle, Nick Clark, and his wife, Anne Clark, of Paradise, California. Anne Clark suffers from multiple sclerosis and is unable to walk. No one knows if they were able to evacuate, or even if their house still exists, she said.

“I’m staying hopeful,” she said. “Until the final word comes, you keep fighting against it.”

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea updated the confirmed fatality number Monday night — a figure that is almost certain to spike following the blaze that last week destroyed Paradise, a town of 27,000 about 180 miles (290 kilometres) northeast of San Francisco.

Authorities were bringing in two mobile morgue units and requesting 150 search and rescue personnel. Officials were unsure of the exact number of missing.

“I want to recover as many remains as we possibly can, as soon as we can. Because I know the toll it takes on loved ones,” Honea said.

Chaplains accompanied some coroner search teams that visited dozens of addresses belonging to people reported missing. For those on the grim search, no cars in the driveway is good, one car a little more ominous and multiple burned-out vehicles equals a call for extra vigilance.

State officials said the cause of the inferno was under investigation.

READ MORE: VIDEO – Wildfire nearly quadruples in size

Meanwhile, a landowner near where the blaze began, Betsy Ann Cowley, said she got an email from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. the day before the fire last week telling her that crews needed to come onto her property because the utility’s power lines were causing sparks. PG&E had no comment on the email.

Stan Craig’s sister, Beverly Craig Powers, has not returned numerous texts and calls, and the adult children of her partner, Robert Duvall, have not heard from their father, he said. The couple was last seen evacuating their Paradise home on Thursday with two pickup trucks and a travel trailer, so they could be camping.

He knows friends and family are still being reunited with missing loved ones, but he said his unease grows every day. Still, the Fresno, California, resident wasn’t planning on heading to the fire area. As a former firefighter himself, he said he understands the chaos wildfires cause.

“I’m going to stay here until I have something more to go on,” he said.

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state. Together, they were blamed for 44 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California , where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 143-square-mile (370-square-kilometre) blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

All told, more than 8,000 firefighters statewide were battling wildfires that destroyed more than 7,000 structures and scorched more than 325 square miles (840 square kilometres), the flames feeding on dry brush and driven by blowtorch winds.

There were tiny signs of some sense of order returning to Paradise and anonymous gestures meant to rally the spirits of firefighters who have worked in a burned-over wasteland for days.

Large American flags stuck into the ground lined both sides of the road at the town limits, and temporary stop signs appeared overnight at major intersections. Downed power lines that had blocked roads were cut away, and crews took down burned trees with chain saws.

The 42 dead in Northern California surpassed the deadliest single fire on record, a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. A series of wildfires in Northern California’s wine country last fall killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption Another blaze near Los Angeles, the Peak Fire, is now out

Crews battling a deadly wildfire in northern California have managed to hold their containment lines, the state fire service says.

They have contained 30% of the fire, stretching over 125,000 acres (50,500 ha), but do not expect to contain it fully until the end of the month.

In the ruined town of Paradise, Butte County, forensics teams are continuing to search for human remains.

The official death toll has risen to 48, with dozens of people missing.

Another blaze in the south of the state, the Woolsey Fire, has killed at least two people, damaging beach resorts including Malibu, a favourite with the rich and famous.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption California wildfires continue to rage

It is still burning across more than 96,000 acres but is 35% contained, the state fire service tweeted.

Another, smaller blaze, the Hill Fire, is 90% contained in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump has paid tribute to emergency crews' "incredible courage in the face of danger".

"We mourn the lives of those lost and we pray for the victims and there were more victims than anybody would ever think possible," he said.

A county in shock

By Dave Lee, BBC News, Paradise, northern California

It's five days since the Camp Fire destroyed this town. Power lines are strewn across the streets, cars melted into their driveways.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A California license plate in the ashes of Paradise

There are clues to the panic that must have swept through what was a charming town. A garden table, with food-serving tongs at the ready - both now fused together by the extreme heat.

In nearby Chico, on the site of a fairground, impressive emergency planning is in action: last night's shift of firefighters sleep in a warehouse, while today's get their briefings.

But being prepared for the worst doesn't make it any less traumatic. This is a county in shock - at lives, homes and livelihoods lost. And the knowledge that, in California, this will happen again.

How great is the challenge in Butte County?

Convoys of fire engines could be seen rumbling through the charred ruins of the town on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reports, as crews headed out to fight the deadliest wildfire in the state's history.

Workers used chainsaws to clear downed power lines and other obstacles from the streets.

At least 6,607 residences have been destroyed in the county along with 1,032 commercial and other structures.

"Thirty percent [containment] is kind of where we're getting close to rounding the corner," said Cal Fire spokeswoman Erica Bain.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Paradise resident Sorrell Bobrink describes 'apocalyptic' scenes

"When we're in the 30s and 40s, they're getting a good handle on it. By the end of this week I'd like to see that number up to 40, maybe 45."

Another Cal Fire representative, Scott McLean, said firefighters were now more optimistic because of changing weather conditions.

What is being done to find the missing?

Officials warn that finding human remains could take weeks.

It was expected that 150 search-and-recovery personnel would arrive on Tuesday to reinforce 13 coroner-led recovery teams in the fire zone, Reuters reports.

Three portable morgue teams have been requested from the US military along with a "disaster mortuary" crew, cadaver dog units to locate human remains and three groups of forensic anthropologists.

Many victims in Paradise are believed to have been elderly residents or people with mobility issues who would have found evacuating more difficult.

Why are the fires so bad?

Historically, California's "wildfire season" started in summer and ran into early autumn but experts have warned that the risk is now year-round.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption With wildfires occurring across the globe, here are some of the techniques used to stop them

The California Public Utilities Commission is investigating what sparked the latest blazes - amid reports electrical companies may have suffered malfunctions near the sources shortly before the fires began.

Low humidity, warm Santa Ana winds, and dry ground after a rain-free month have produced a prime fire-spreading environment.

The state's 40-million-strong population also helps explain the fires' deadliness. That number is almost double what it was in the 1970s, and people are living closer to at-risk forest areas.

Citing the role of a warming climate, California Governor Jerry Brown declared: "This is not the new normal, this is the new abnormal."</s>Holding out slim hope as crews search for more fire dead; 42 already killed in blaze

More than a dozen coroner search and recovery teams looked for human remains from a Northern California wildfire that killed at least 42 — making it the deadliest in state history — as anxious relatives visited shelters and called police hoping to find loved ones alive.

Lisa Jordan drove 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) from Yakima, Washington, to search for her uncle, Nick Clark, and his wife, Anne Clark, of Paradise, California. Anne Clark suffers from multiple sclerosis and is unable to walk. No one knows if they were able to evacuate, or even if their house still exists, she said.

“I’m staying hopeful,” she said. “Until the final word comes, you keep fighting against it.”

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea updated the confirmed fatality number Monday night — a figure that is almost certain to spike following the blaze that last week destroyed Paradise, a town of 27,000 about 180 miles (290 kilometres) northeast of San Francisco.

Authorities were bringing in two mobile morgue units and requesting 150 search and rescue personnel. Officials were unsure of the exact number of missing.

“I want to recover as many remains as we possibly can, as soon as we can. Because I know the toll it takes on loved ones,” Honea said.

Chaplains accompanied some coroner search teams that visited dozens of addresses belonging to people reported missing. For those on the grim search, no cars in the driveway is good, one car a little more ominous and multiple burned-out vehicles equals a call for extra vigilance.

State officials said the cause of the inferno was under investigation.

READ MORE: VIDEO – Wildfire nearly quadruples in size

Meanwhile, a landowner near where the blaze began, Betsy Ann Cowley, said she got an email from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. the day before the fire last week telling her that crews needed to come onto her property because the utility’s power lines were causing sparks. PG&E had no comment on the email.

Stan Craig’s sister, Beverly Craig Powers, has not returned numerous texts and calls, and the adult children of her partner, Robert Duvall, have not heard from their father, he said. The couple was last seen evacuating their Paradise home on Thursday with two pickup trucks and a travel trailer, so they could be camping.

He knows friends and family are still being reunited with missing loved ones, but he said his unease grows every day. Still, the Fresno, California, resident wasn’t planning on heading to the fire area. As a former firefighter himself, he said he understands the chaos wildfires cause.

“I’m going to stay here until I have something more to go on,” he said.

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state. Together, they were blamed for 44 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California , where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 143-square-mile (370-square-kilometre) blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

All told, more than 8,000 firefighters statewide were battling wildfires that destroyed more than 7,000 structures and scorched more than 325 square miles (840 square kilometres), the flames feeding on dry brush and driven by blowtorch winds.

There were tiny signs of some sense of order returning to Paradise and anonymous gestures meant to rally the spirits of firefighters who have worked in a burned-over wasteland for days.

Large American flags stuck into the ground lined both sides of the road at the town limits, and temporary stop signs appeared overnight at major intersections. Downed power lines that had blocked roads were cut away, and crews took down burned trees with chain saws.

The 42 dead in Northern California surpassed the deadliest single fire on record, a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. A series of wildfires in Northern California’s wine country last fall killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>The death toll has reached 42 in the Northern California wildfire, making it the deadliest in state history

PARADISE, Calif. (AP) — The death toll has reached 42 in the Northern California wildfire, making it the deadliest in state history.</s>More than 200 missing in California's deadliest wildfire on record

The death toll from a huge blaze in Northern California rose to 42 on Monday, making it the deadliest wildfire in state history.

Thousands of firefighters spent a fifth day digging battle lines to contain the "Camp Fire" in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Sacramento, while search teams were on a grim mission to recover the dead.

"As of today, an additional 13 human remains have been recovered, which brings the total number to 42," Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.

The blaze is "the deadliest wildland fire in California history," Honea said.

Although it is difficult to be certain due to inconsistencies in record keeping and categorization, the Camp Fire appears to deadliest American wildfire in a century -- since the Cloquet Fire killed an estimated 1,000 people in Minnesota in 1918.

The Camp Fire is the largest of several infernos that have sent a quarter of a million people fleeing their homes across the tinder-dry state, with winds of up to 60 miles (100 kilometers) per hour fanning the fast-moving flames.

In addition to the historic loss of life, the Camp Fire blaze is also more destructive than any other on record, having razed 6,500 homes in the town of Paradise, effectively wiping it off the map.

More than 5,100 firefighters from as far as the states of Washington and Texas have been working to halt the advance of the inferno as "mass casualty" search teams backed by anthropologists and a DNA lab pick through the charred ruins to identify remains -- sometimes reduced to no more than shards of bone.

"We're now at a point where we're going to bring in human remains detector dogs, or what often are referred to as cadaver dogs," Honea said Monday.

At least 44 people have died in fire zones in Northern and Southern California, where acrid smoke has blanketed the sky for miles, the sun barely visible.

U.S. President Donald Trump "declared that a major disaster exists in the state of California and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires," the White House said in a statement.

The move makes aid available to the state's fire-hit Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

On the ground, cars caught in the flames have been reduced to scorched metal skeletons, while piles of debris smolder where houses once stood, an occasional brick wall or chimney remaining.

Glenn Simmons, 64, told AFP in the nearby town of Chico that he had been sleeping in his car since Thursday, unable to find a space in a shelter.

"I was planning on maybe moving out of state, or into southern California... Everything is burned up. I have my clothes and I have a backpack, and that's pretty much it," he said.

The Camp Fire has reduced around 17 square miles (45 square kilometers) of Butte County's forested hills mostly to charred wasteland -- an area which hasn't seen rainfall of more than half an inch (one centimeter) in more than 30 weeks.

It is currently 25 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Three firefighters have been injured in the effort to quell the blaze's advance.

At the southern end of the state, another three firefighters have been injured battling the Woolsey Fire, which has devoured mansions and mobile homes alike in the coastal celebrity resort of Malibu.

The blaze is similar in size to the Camp Fire but has been much less destructive, and the death toll has been limited to two victims found in a vehicle on a private driveway.

While some Malibu-area residents were allowed to return home late Sunday, the city of Calabasas, just northeast of coastal Malibu, came under evacuation orders.

"This is not the new normal, this is the new abnormal. And this new abnormal will continue, certainly in the next 10 to 15 to 20 years," California Governor Jerry Brown said Sunday in a stark warning over the likely damaging effects of climate change.

"Unfortunately, the best science is telling us that the dryness, warmth, drought, all those things, they're going to intensify."

Over the weekend, the Woolsey Fire engulfed parts of Thousand Oaks, where the community is still shell-shocked after a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday.

The blaze has consumed around 93,000 acres (37,600 hectares), destroyed an estimated 370 structures and was 30 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Monday extended condolences to the U.S. over the rising death toll.

"We are saddened by the loss of many lives and great material losses caused by wildfires in the State of California, U.S.," the ministry said in a written statement.

"We extend our condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives and to the people of the United States and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," the statement added.</s>(Reuters) - More than 200 people were missing early on Monday in California’s deadliest and most destructive blaze on record, one of two fires raging in the state which have killed at least 31 people and forced more than a quarter of a million evacuations.

The so-called Camp Fire 40 miles northwest of Sacramento burned down more than 6,700 homes and businesses in the town of Paradise, more structures than any other wildfire recorded in California.

The fire had burned more than 111,000 acres and was 25 percent contained by late Sunday, officials said. Its death toll of 29 now equals that of the Griffith Park Fire in 1933, the deadliest wildfire on record in California.

At least 228 people were still missing, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has scorched at least 85,500 acres and destroyed 177 structures. The blaze was only 15 percent contained. At least two people have died in that fire, according to officials from the statewide agency Cal Fire.

The blaze has forced the authorities to issue evacuation orders for a quarter million people in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and beachside communities including the Malibu beach colony.

Celebrities at the People’s Choice Awards Sunday night in Santa Monica, Ca., asked for prayers and donations for residents and first responders.

Reality television star Kim Kardashian said, ‘It’s been a really rough week in our home in Calabasas, Hidden Hills and our neighbors in Thousand Oaks and Malibu.”

Actor Melissa McCarthy said, “Please keep the victims, volunteers and firefighters in your thoughts.” She also asked people to donate to the Los Angeles fire Department Foundation.

Hot, dry winds were expected to whip up the fires burning in both tinder-dry southern and northern California until Tuesday, officials said.

“Winds are already blowing,” Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Sunday. “They are going to blow for the next three days. Your house can be rebuilt but you can’t bring your life back.”

Governor Jerry Brown asked U.S. President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster to bolster the emergency response and help residents recover.

Trump has criticized the California government in Tweets this weekend, blaming poor forest management for the infernos.</s>Authorities searching through the blackened aftermath of California's deadliest wildfire released on Wednesday the names of about 80 people who were still missing, including many in their 80s and 90s. Officials in Northern California said Tuesday that search crews had found six more bodies, bringing the death toll from the so-called "Camp Fire" to 48 and the statewide total to 50.
The death toll of the Camp Fire in Butte County, the deadliest wildfire in Californian history, rises to 48 people while dozens are missing.