Camp Fire Deadliest Wildfire in California History, Death Toll Now Up to 42

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Such a tragedy, can't imagine what those folks are going through, driving and running to escape the flames, or just perishing because they couldn't flee in time. RIP, condolences to families and thanks to the firefighters and all who've helped the victims. More here.

The Camp Fire has become the deadliest wildfire in California history as the death toll reached 42 on Monday night.


Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea delivered the sobering news at a press conference following a day in which stiff winds conspired with low humidity and parched terrain Monday to hinder the efforts of firefighters combating historically devastating wildfires.


Authorities have 13 coroner’s search teams combing through rubble for the victims and will be getting more on Tuesday. They also will be getting two portable morgue units from the military and cadaver dogs to help with the search.


The collective death toll in California stands at 44; the Woolsey Fire burning in Ventura and Los Angeles counties has been blamed for two fatalities. More than 6,500 homes have been destroyed and more than 8,000 firefighters were battling the wind and flames.


Honea identified the first three of the victims of the Camp Fire as Ernest Foss, 65, of Paradise; Jesus Fernandez, 48, of Concow; and Carl Wiley, 77, of Magalia. A mobile DNA lab was set up to identify more.


In Southern California, the weather prognosis was not good.


"The latest rounds of Santa Ana winds are going strong in Southern California," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Samuhel told USA TODAY. "We are seeing gusts near 50 mph. It's an extreme fire danger, the upper end of the scale."
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Not knowing just how the campfire got away, I am amazed at how there aren’t many more wildfires from campfires.

It just doesn’t stand to my reasoning that a campfire, with live embers floating into the trees, can be OK.

Hey, I love a campfire, but I love the woods so much more, let alone the horrible loss of so many lives.
 
Agree Gary, it is terrible.

My understanding is that the fire was named for it's point of origin on Camp Creek Road. Current reports cite the probable cause as a power line failure in a poorly managed wooded area.
 

Tommy said:
Current reports cite the probable cause as a power line failure in a poorly managed wooded area.
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Yeah, I read that...caused me some confusion

Thanks for clearing that up for me

'Power line failure'...new one on me

any power lines out this way has a wide swath of clear cut
 
Latest reports from my son are that the fires are still only 15-20% contained. They predicted better at this point, until those Santa Anas really screwed things up. At this rate, it will be another week at least before the fires are completely under control. :(
 
Ronni said:
Latest reports from my son are that the fires are still only 15-20% contained. They predicted better at this point, until those Santa Anas really screwed things up. At this rate, it will be another week at least before the fires are completely under control. :(
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Winds are killer

not good
 
There is no such thing as a good way to check out but the news was saying that they found some people that were burned to death inside their vehicles......think about it, that would really be a slow and horrible way to go.
 
IKE said:
There is no such thing as a good way to check out but the news was saying that they found some people that were burned to death inside their vehicles......think about it, that would really be a slow and horrible way to go.
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I can't think about it. That is horrifying.
 
IKE said:
There is no such thing as a good way to check out but the news was saying that they found some people that were burned to death inside their vehicles......think about it, that would really be a slow and horrible way to go.
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That's a sickening thought.
 
It's tragic. I think the heat from these fires create their own weather system which in turn amplifies the effects of these fires.

I see the pictures of people driving through these roads with fire on both sides and it's fascinating yet extremely frightening.
 
We are getting a little of the smoke but nothing like some of my friends are. Monday we hope to go down to southern California for the holidays and I'm concerned about what we'll experience going over the grapevine into LA. I have relatives in both southern and northern California, not to mention my dear friends. I can't believe it that a week ago I was foolish enough to think fire season was over.
 
Fire is terrifying. When I was a little kid about 5 or so, we were in southern California and had to drive out from where we lived through a fire. Not nearly as bad as what we are seeing now, but there was fire on both sides of the road we were on and I have a crystal clear memory of how scared I was during that drive and the burning trees -- but dad got us out OK. Funny, I have no memory of where we went or for how long before we could go back home. Fortunately, our house was spared.
 
Last night, a neighbor showed me a picture that a friend in the Bay Area had texted her. It was two views of Alcatraz, taken from across the bay. The first one showed a beautiful red sunset, and a clear
San Francisco skyline. The second picture, taken from the exact same spot yesterday, was solid gray. Just a gray rectangle, you couldn't make out any shapes at all! Horrifying.
 
[h=2][/h][h=1]Wealthy's use of private firefighters ignites debate in wildfire country[/h]
[h=1]Kim Kardashian’s Private Firefighters Expose America’s Fault Lines[/h]
As multiple devastating wildfires raged across California, a private firefighting crew reportedly helped save Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s home in Calabasas, TMZ reported this week. The successful defense of the $50 million mansion is the most prominent example of a trend that’s begun to receive national attention: for-hire firefighters protecting homes, usually on the payroll of an insurance company with a lot at risk.
The insurance companies AIG and Chubb have publicly talked about their private wildfire teams. AIG has its own “Wildfire Protection Unit,” while Chubb—and up to a dozen other insurers—contract with Wildfire Defense Systems, a Montana company that claims to have made 550 “wildfire responses on behalf of insurers,” including 255 in just the past two years. Right now in California, the company has 53 engines working to protect close to 1,000 homes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...nye-west-history-private-firefighting/575887/
 
Look's like we have a good chance of getting some rain, starting Wednesday. That'd be wonderful, hope it gets here. The health department is giving out face masks, we're just staying indoors for the most part.
 
RadishRose said:
Wealthy's use of private firefighters ignites debate in wildfire country


Kim Kardashian’s Private Firefighters Expose America’s Fault Lines


As multiple devastating wildfires raged across California, a private firefighting crew reportedly helped save Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s home in Calabasas, TMZ reported this week. The successful defense of the $50 million mansion is the most prominent example of a trend that’s begun to receive national attention: for-hire firefighters protecting homes, usually on the payroll of an insurance company with a lot at risk.
The insurance companies AIG and Chubb have publicly talked about their private wildfire teams. AIG has its own “Wildfire Protection Unit,” while Chubb—and up to a dozen other insurers—contract with Wildfire Defense Systems, a Montana company that claims to have made 550 “wildfire responses on behalf of insurers,” including 255 in just the past two years. Right now in California, the company has 53 engines working to protect close to 1,000 homes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...nye-west-history-private-firefighting/575887/
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Well, rich people can afford, and GET, better everything. It is a fact of life and has been since time immemorial and will be so until time flickers out. Do people want to prevent rich people from hiring private firefighters? That's ridiculous.
 
I agree with Butterfly. In my book it's roughly the same as wealthy folks hiring private security patrols.

Private insurers deploying 53 additional engines and who knows how many firefighters to help fight a fire (even when their help is limited to certain homes) is surely beneficial to all whose lives and property are threatened. Even the non-wealthy masses.
 
Still almost 250 people unaccounted for, death toll up to 85 in California. I can't imagine what these poor people are going through, rest in peace for those who have lost their lives. More Here.

After more than two weeks battling a raging inferno, firefighters are getting closer to containing the Camp Fire that has killed 85 people in Northern California.
Cal Fire, the state's forestry and fire protection agency, revised the death toll from an earlier count of 87. At least 249 people remain missing, down from more than 1,000 days earlier, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said.

California's deadliest wildfire, which started November 8, remained 98% contained after rain helped firefighters extinguish some of the hot spots, Cal Fire said Saturday.

"The fire line that remains uncontained is located in steep and rugged terrain where it is unsafe for firefighters to access due to the heavy rains," Cal Fire said. Firefighters continue to monitor the area and will reassess when it's safe.

"One of the things that it (rain) does do is, it does concentrate the scent into a smaller compartment because of all the ash that was flying around," he told KCRA. "It more compacts it, centralizes it and the dogs (looking for remains) can be very successful in that."

But too much rain can also wash away remains or bury them in the caked mud, making them harder to find.

Now that the rains have subsided, crews will assess the areas where the fire was still burning in steep terrain. Cal Fire said it soon expects to have the blaze fully contained.

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HazyDavey said:
Look's like we have a good chance of getting some rain, starting Wednesday. That'd be wonderful, hope it gets here. The health department is giving out face masks, we're just staying indoors for the most part.
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If only that rain had arrived two weeks earlier. But I said it for years that Paradise would go up like a match stick some day and it did. If anyone had ever been to the town, it was a cute densely populated area with trees trees and more trees. Cause yet determined. Possibly PG&E. It's ruining the whole area really. The town is decimated. Many dead, many homeless and no place to live. Real estate selling very quickly and prices going up.
 

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