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As it happenedended

California wildfires: Camp Fire kills 42 to become deadliest in state history as Trump approves major disaster declaration

Fires across state have killed 44 in total with hundreds still missing

Clark Mindock
New York
,Chris Riotta,Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 13 November 2018 04:24 GMT
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California fire officials give update on Woolsey wildfire

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The total death toll from wildfires across California has risen to 44, after 13 more people were found dead in what is now the deadliest single fire in state history.

The blaze dubbed Camp Fire in northern California has incinerated more than 7,100 homes and businesses - particularly in the town of Paradise. Its death toll exceeds 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.

Speaking on CNN, Mr Honea said that while he holds out hope that many people listed as missing will turn up safe, “given what we’ve dealt with so far with casualties as a result of this fire, I have concerns that it [the death toll] will rise”.

Late on Monday, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state, which will allow it to access more federal funds. Mr Trump said he "wanted to respond quickly", although calls for the declaration have been coming for a number of days.

Hundreds of thousands of evacuation orders have been issued, while countless residents have shared images online of missing loved ones, begging people to help them find displaced relatives and friends.

In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has scorched at least 91,000 acres and destroyed 370 structures. At least two people have died in that fire, and more than 57,000 buildings still at risk.

You can find our latest report on the California wildfires here. For more on how the events of Monday unfolded, please see our now-closed live blog, below.

Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load

Butte County Fire Department has also published an incident update video for local residents:

 

Chris Stevenson12 November 2018 20:16

  ↵Gavin Newsom, the governor-elect of California, has provided the following warning to residents:

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 20:23

At least two new fires have been reported in California as of Monday morning, according to fire officials.

Those fires were announced at a press conference with Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen, who said that the fires had started within minutes of one another.

One of those fires started in Simi Valley south of State Route 118, and officials were closing that road in either direction.

Evacuations were announced and being carried out in the Lake Manor and Box Canyon areas, where the fire had grown to be about 20 acres in size.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 20:54

Devastating images continue to pour in from the wildfires in California. Here's the latest from CAL FIRE in San Luis.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 21:04

Here is a map showing the area of one of the latest fires.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 21:20

Here is some of the latest from the Associated Press:

Fire officials in Northern California say firefighters are battling two spot fires south of the town leveled by a blaze that has killed at least 29 people.  Cal Fire Deputy Operations Chief Monty Smith says dense, dry vegetation is fueling the spot fires Monday on each side of Lake Oroville.  A fire behavior specialist at Cal Fire, Jonathan Pangburn, said earlier that major winds combined with tinder dry conditions helped the fire jump over the lake Sunday night.  The area near Paradise is expected to see wind gusts as high as 40 mph (64 kmph) by Monday evening.  Smith says firefighters are working to build a contingency line to stop the fire from reaching Oroville, a town of 19,000 people. 

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 21:39

With the death toll at 31, the wildfires raging in California rank among the deadliest the state has ever seen.

More than 200 people remain missing as the fires blaze on, and homes and businesses across the area have been hit by the fires. Some celebrities have reported that their homes were destroyed in the fires, and have urged people to help firefighters by either donating money or volunteering.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 21:51

  ↵Here's the latest from Cal Fire. They say that another press conference will be held in about one hour. 

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 22:05

  ↵President Donald Trump stirred up a lot of controversy over the weekend, as the wildfires raged. Here's our look, with commentary from experts who weighed in on the president's remarks.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 22:20

The number of structures destroyed by the fires in California is striking. At the Camp Fire northwest of Sacramento, more than 6,700 homes and businesses have been destroyed in the town of Paradise — that is the highest number of structures destroyed in recorded California history.

That fire had burned more than 111,000 acres and was 25 per cent contained as of Sunday night. 

Meanwhile, the number of estimated structures destroyed by the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles is up to 370. 

"I'd like to emphasize the estimated 57,000 structures [that] are still here," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said on Monday.

Clark Mindock12 November 2018 22:40

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