631 Persons Missing, 66 Dead In California Wildfires

California wildfire

The number of missing in Californian wildfires has risen to 631, as authorities added hundreds of names to the lists of the unaccounted for Thursday.

The wildfire has been described as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.

Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea said on Thursday evening the death toll from the Camp Fire in northern California had grown to 63 people. Seven sets of remains were discovered Thursday, he said.

At least two other people have been killed in another, separate wildfire in Southern California, putting the state’s death toll at 66 since the two blazes began last week.

On Friday hundreds of rescue personnel — deputies, National Guard troops and coroners — dressed in white overalls sifted through smoldering rubble and checked mangled cars, searching for human remains.

Honea said the number of names on the missing list soared after investigators added information from callers who rang the dispatch center on the day the fire erupted and reported people who were missing in the chaos.