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California wildfire toll matches deadliest ever with 29 victims
PARADISE, United States, Nov 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The death toll in a
raging California wildfire has reached 29, matching the deadliest in the
state’s history as firefighters battling blazes at both ends of the state on
Monday braced for strong winds.
The “Camp Fire” — in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains north
of Sacramento — is the largest and most destructive of several infernos that
have broken out.
The flames have sent 250,000 people fleeing their homes across the tinder-
dry state and razed 6,400 homes in the town of Paradise, effectively wiping
it off the map.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced the new death toll at a news
conference Sunday, adding that all were found in Paradise area.
At least 31 people have died in fire zones in north and south California,
where acrid smoke blanketed the sky for miles, the sun barely visible.
On the ground, cars caught in the flames were reduced to scorched metal
skeletons, while homes were left as smoldering piles of debris, with an
occasional brick wall or chimney remaining.
Some 200 people remained unaccounted for in the Paradise area alone,
officials said. Several fire-affected areas were left without cell phone
service.
The fire matched the 1933 Griffith Park disaster in Los Angeles — until
now the single deadliest wildfire on record, according to the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
At the southern end of the state, the “Woolsey Fire” has destroyed
mansions and mobile homes in the coastal celebrity redoubt of Malibu, where
the death toll has been limited to two victims found in a vehicle on a
private driveway.
The National Weather Service has issued a “Red Flag” alert for fire-
affected Los Angeles and Ventura County.
The service warned of “EXTREMELY CRITICAL Fire Weather Conditions through
Tuesday.”
It said winds of up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour were expected in
the coastal region, and up to 60 mph (96 kph) in mountainous areas.
– ‘The new abnormal ‘ –
The “Camp Fire” has scorched 111,000 acres (45,000 hectares) and is 25
percent contained, Cal Fire said. So far, three of the more than 4,000
firefighters deployed have been injured.
Evacuation orders have been issued to more than a quarter of a million
people across California.
While some Malibu-area residents were allowed to return home late Sunday,
the entire city of Calabasas — just northeast of 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.
“Unfortunately, the best science is telling us that the dryness, warmth,
drought, all those things, they’re going to intensify.”
– ‘Dangerously wrong’ –
President Donald Trump drew fierce criticism for an unsympathetic reaction
to the devastation.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in
California except that forest management is so poor,” Trump tweeted,
threatening to withdraw federal support.
Brian Rice, the head of the California Professional Firefighters, slammed
the tweet as “ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are
suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.”
He said the president’s claim that forest policies were mismanaged “is
dangerously wrong.”
– Celebrity aid for pets –
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 85,500 acres, destroyed at least 177
buildings and was 15 percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Singer Miley Cyrus’s home was one of the buildings destroyed in southern
California.
“Completely devestated (sic) by the fires affecting my community. I am one
of the lucky ones. My animals and LOVE OF MY LIFE made it out safely & that’s
all that matters right now,” she tweeted.
“My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends
stand strong.”
Many of the southern California area’s residents own horses, and for the
past days Twitter has been filled with messages of people seeking and
offering help.
Actor James Woods, a rare political conservative in liberal Hollywood, has
made new friends by using his Twitter account to help find missing people and
getting help for pets, including horses.
“Please think about fostering #pets while evacuees are dealing with the
crisis. Los Angeles #animal shelters are mostly filled, so follow my
hashtags, and see if someone in need is someone you can help!” read one of
his tweets.
The Ventura County Humane Society said it was “deeply humbled by a
$100,000 donation from (actress) Sandra Bullock and family” to rescue and
care for animals evacuated from the fires.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1733 hrs