Fires in California: number of missing exceeded 600

631 people are reported missing due to forest fires in northern California. During the day, the list of missing persons has doubled. The death toll has reached 66 people, according to local authorities.

12 thousand buildings burned down. The Camp Fire in the north of the state killed 63 people, and three more died from the Woolsey Fire in the south.

US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in California on Saturday to assess the scale of the disaster and meet with the victims, writes Air force.

In extinguishing fires, thousands of firefighters are now involved in 9,4. Camp fire, which began eight days ago, quickly spread to the north of the state because of the wind. The inhabitants had very little time to escape.

Why doubled the number of missing

The official list of missing persons on Thursday increased from 300 to 631 man.

As the sheriff of the Butte County Cory Honea explained at the press conference, the participants of the search teams managed to process and double-check all the information that came to them from November 8.

“I want you to understand that we were working in conditions of extreme chaos,” he said.

The number of missing people will likely fluctuate, the sheriff said. “If you see yourself, someone you know or a loved one on the list, please let us know,” Honea added.

How is the fire fighting

According to the Californian authorities, fires are now localized at 40%. Officials say they expect to completely localize the fires, whose area has already increased to 56 thousand hectares, not earlier than the beginning of December.

The city of Paradise suffered the most - according to authorities, it needs to be completely rebuilt, and this will take years.

Breaking: Death toll rises to 63 from #Campfire in Butte County, California. 631 people remain unaccounted for. pic.twitter.com/PxloyLbOyi

- PM Breaking News (MPMBreakingNews) November 16, 2018

The search for human remains, along with the rescuers are engaged in the military. Officials warn that search operations may take several weeks.

Housing shortage

Families whose housing has burned down will be very hard to find new, said CNN executive director of the Office of Housing, Bitt County Ed Meyer.

“We only had 10% of our county's housing stock burnt down in one day, it's hard to even explain what that means,” he said.

Walmart in Chico has a parking lot full of vehicles, including trailers, in which people live. Others live in tents.

“It’s been a week, but I don’t know how long it will last,” Mayer said. “We’re okay now, but in the long term we’re not.”

Meyer said that one of the advantages of Paradise was affordable housing, but now there is no city.

Norovirus outbreak expected

To the suffering of evacuees may be added an outbreak of norovirus in Chico. Evacuees had some symptoms, but officials are waiting for test results to confirm. Norovirus symptoms: vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. All this threatens to dehydrate, which is dangerous if you do not take appropriate measures immediately.

Why did the fires start

While the authorities do not have an answer to the question of what caused the fires, but the investigation continues.

Several people have already filed lawsuits against the local power company because they believe the Camp Fire was started by a power line failure.

As a rule, in California, the season of forest fires lasted from summer to early autumn, but experts indicate that now this risk occurs all year round.

The reason is low humidity, warm winds and dry soil due to the long absence of rain.

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