California Fires: Number of Missing Soars Past 1,000

Local Editor

The number of people listed as missing in a devastating northern California wildfire soared past 1,000 on Friday as the remains of eight additional victims were found by rescuers.

In further details, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters that the number of people unaccounted for had jumped from 631 to 1,011 in the last 24 hours as authorities receive more reports of people missing and as emergency calls made when the fire broke out are reviewed.

"I want you to understand that this is a dynamic list," he told reporters. He said that on a positive note, 329 people who had been listed as missing since the fire broke out had so far been accounted for.

"The information I am providing you is raw data and we find there is the likely possibility that the list contains duplicate names," he said, adding that some people who had escaped may also be unaware that they have been listed as missing.

The eight additional sets of human remains found bring to 71 the total number of dead from the so-called Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive in California history.

 Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team