California맥스카지노s deadliest, most destructive wildfire fully contained
More than two weeks after California맥스카지노s deadliest wildfire ignited in Butte County, firefighters have officially harnessed the Camp Fire, announcing Sunday that the blaze was at last 100 percent contained.
The milestone comes after protracted horror for the town of Paradise and surrounding areas and amid news of tragedy that will long outlive the flames.
Within days of the Camp Fire erupting on Nov. 8, the monster inferno eclipsed state records as the most deadly and destructive wildfire.
The fire has killed at least 85 people, and that number is expected to rise as crews continue to comb through scorched retirement communities for remains.
By Sunday, 249 people remained missing and about 2,500 of those once reported missing had been accounted for, according to Butte County officials.
The Camp Fire leveled 13,972 residences by the time of containment at 153,336 acres.
California맥스카지노s second deadliest wildfire, the Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles County in 1933, killed 29 people.
Rain that drenched Northern California on Wednesday slowed the spread of the blaze and helped firefighters gain an edge. This sped up containment considerably, said Brigitte Foster, fire prevention officer for the Lassen National Forest and spokeswoman for the Camp Fire efforts.
As recently as last week, crews didn맥스카지노t expect to reach 100 percent containment until Nov. 30, but by early Sunday, firefighters established lines in the remaining remote areas, northwest of Brush Creek.
Crews will continue mopping up affected areas, starting from 50 to 100 feet from the containment line. They맥스카지노ll mostly be checking for smoldering roots and stumps, which can burn internally. Crews will use tools to dig around the stump, break it open and manually pack in dirt and water until it맥스카지노s cooled.
Once the borders of the burn area are under control, crews will continue working their way inward. With a blaze the size of the Camp Fire, 맥스카지노That can take several months in order to call a fire out,맥스카지노 Foster said.
Fears of mudslides and debris flows in burn scar areas had mostly dissipated by Sunday, at least for the foreseeable future. None was reported in Paradise or neighboring Magalia after last week맥스카지노s showers, and rain forecast for this week isn맥스카지노t expected to cause much damage, either.
맥스카지노Even though the rain occurred over a long enough time (last week), it was steady enough that it did not cause any immediate impact,맥스카지노 said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. 맥스카지노The main concern with debris flows is when you get a large amount of rain in a very short amount of time.맥스카지노
Paradise received 3.22 inches of rain last week, Concow had close to 5 inches and Magalia recorded 5.41 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Butte County began consolidating its shelters late last week, transitioning the remaining evacuees to shelters at the Glenn County Fairgrounds in Orland or the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley. As of Saturday night, 350 people were still sleeping at the four remaining Red Cross shelters, said American Red Cross spokesman Stephen Walsh.
There맥스카지노s no hard deadline for people to leave the shelters, but they are designed as a temporary solution, and Red Cross volunteers are working to pair evacuees with agencies that can secure more long-term aid.
맥스카지노I have heard personally of stories from people who said, 맥스카지노I didn맥스카지노t have any insurance, so what I lost in the fire, I lost it, it맥스카지노s gone,맥스카지노맥스카지노 Walsh said. 맥스카지노So that맥스카지노s one of our many roles, is at least trying to get them to tell us what (they) need, and then trying to connect them with the right resources.맥스카지노
Walsh said he맥스카지노s never witnessed a tragedy with as many people unaccounted for. The list of missing people has fluctuated since the beginning of the fire, peaking at more than 1,200. Many of the Paradise and Magalia residents were elderly or disabled, and with the area맥스카지노s spotty cellphone service, many relied solely on landlines.
맥스카지노I was getting anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen phone calls each day the first week from people saying, 맥스카지노I can맥스카지노t find somebody.맥스카지노 ... I맥스카지노ve never seen that,맥스카지노 he said. 맥스카지노So that was chilling, for sure.맥스카지노