California wildfire death toll climbs to 81, missing list rises to 870
November 20, 2018 11:00 pm
• Last Updated: November 20, 2018 11:23 pm
In this Nov. 18, 2018, file photo, volunteer members of an El Dorado County search and rescue team search the ruins of a home, looking for human remains, in Paradise, Calif., following a wildfire. Authorities have deployed a powerful tool to aid in their race to identify the remains of 81 bodies burned in the deadly wildfire that ripped through Northern California: Rapid DNA testing that produces results in just two hours. But the technology that can match DNA to bone fragments in as little as two hours is only as effective as the numbers of people who show up to give a sample, and so far there are not nearly enough volunteers. (AP Photo/Sudhin Thanawala, File)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California sheriff says the list of names of those unaccounted for after a deadly wildfire has increased to 870.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea says the additional 171 names came from a backlog of voicemails that detectives worked through Tuesday.
Authorities stressed that many of the people on the list may be safe and unaware they have been reported missing.
Honea says two more sets of human remains were found Tuesday, bringing the total number killed in a devastating California wildfire to 81.
The blaze that started Nov. 8 leveled Paradise, destroying more than 13,000 homes.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
STORIES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
