Sunday, April 2, 2023
British Herald
Advertisement
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
Home World USA

Rains could hinder search for California wildfire victims

Editorial Bureau by Editorial Bureau
November 20, 2018
0
Rains could hinder search for California wildfire victims

Mourners pray during a vigil for the lives and community lost to the Camp Fire at the First Christian Church of Chico in Chico, California, November 18, 2018. Noah Berger/Pool via REUTERS

74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

(Reuters) – Authorities on Monday redoubled efforts to find more victims of the deadliest wildfire in California history and to account for nearly 1,000 people listed as missing, with forecast rains likely to hinder the search and raise the risk of mudslides.

You might also like

Army accused of holding back info on missing students in Mexico

Trump Indictment: A case as weak as ‘Zombie’ Case

Donald Trump indicted over hush money ; 1st ex-President charged with crime

Remains of 79 victims have been recovered since the Camp Fire erupted on Nov. 8 and largely obliterated the Sierra foothills hamlet of Paradise, a town of nearly 27,000 people about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.

The latest official death toll, which has climbed steadily over the past week, was announced by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) a day after the Butte County Sheriff’s Office reduced the number of names on its missing-persons list to 993, down from 1,276 on Saturday.

That roster has fluctuated dramatically over the past week as additional individuals were reported missing, or as some initially listed as unaccounted for either turn up alive or end up being identified among the dead.

Sheriff Kory Honea has said some people have been added to the list more than once at times under variant spellings of their names.

As of Monday, the fire has torched more than 151,000 acres (61,107 hectares) of drought-parched scrub and trees, incinerating some 12,000 homes along the way, Cal Fire said.

But firefighters in recent days have gained significant ground against the blaze, carving containment lines around 70 percent of its perimeter, according to the agency.

Efforts to further suppress the flames were likely to benefit from a storm expected to dump as much as 4 inches (10 cm) of rain north of San Francisco between late Tuesday and Friday, said Patrick Burke, a National Weather Service forecaster.

‘MUDDY, MUSHY MESS’

But heavy showers carry the potential for unleashing dangerous mudslides in newly burned areas while also making it more difficult for forensic teams sifting through cinders and debris in search of additional human remains.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, founder of the California-based consulting company Identifinders International, said the expected rain will turn the site into a “muddy, mushy mess,” slick with wet ash.

“It’s going to coat things and stick to things, and it’s going to make it a lot harder to find remains,” she said. “There’s really nothing that can be done about this. The workers looking for remains are going to be stuck with this.”

Pathologists from the University of Nevada, Reno worked through the weekend as firefighters peeled back debris, collecting bits of burned bones and photographing everything that might help identify victims.

The elevated risk of mudslides could also increase the misery factor for evacuees, some of whom are living in tents or camping out of their cars. Residents who only recently were permitted back in homes that survived the fire may be ordered to evacuate again if they live downslope from badly burned areas.

Intense fire over the slopes of canyons, hills and mountains makes them more prone to catastrophic erosion in the form of landslides, by burning away vegetation and organic material that normally holds soil in place. The fire also creates a hard, waxy surface that tends to repel rather than absorb water.

The result can be heavy runoff of rainwater mixed with mud, boulders, trees and other debris that flow downhill with tremendous force, said Jason Kean, a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Those debris flows have the consistency of wet concrete and move faster than you can run,” he said. “It’s like a flood on steroids … and a big one can take out two-story buildings.”

The number of people in need of temporary shelter was not clear, but as many as 52,000 people had been under evacuation orders at the height of the firestorm last week.

Nearly 500 (800 km) south of Paradise near Malibu, west of Los Angeles, at least 2 inches of rain are expected to fall on a second fire, the Woolsey, which has killed three people. That blaze was 94 percent contained by Monday morning.

Malibu’s power supply was cut off on Monday to allow for repairs, the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office said.

The cause of both fires is under investigation, but electric utilities reported localized equipment problems around the time they broke out.

PG&E Corp has said it could face liability that exceeds its insurance coverage if its equipment were found to have caused the Camp Fire.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York, Nick Carey in Detroit, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; writing by Nick Carey and Steve Gorman; editing by Bill Berkrot, James Dalgleish and Michael Perry)

Share30Tweet19
Editorial Bureau

Editorial Bureau

Recommended For You

Army accused of holding back info on missing students in Mexico

April 1, 2023
Army accused of holding back info on missing students in Mexico

An independent committee investigating the disappearance of 43 students of Mexico in 2014 has accused the armed forces. That too stating the force withheld information about the case...

Read more

Trump Indictment: A case as weak as ‘Zombie’ Case

April 1, 2023
Trump case

Details of Thursday's indictment remain secret. Critics believe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reviving a dormant "zombie case" that has been sitting in his office for years....

Read more

Donald Trump indicted over hush money ; 1st ex-President charged with crime

March 31, 2023
donald trump

On March 31, prosecutors and defence lawyers announced that a Manhattan grand jury had indicted Donald Trump, making him the first former U.S. President to face a criminal...

Read more

Permit to buy handguns no longer required in North Carolina

March 30, 2023
Handgun

The Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina has overridden the Democratic governor’s veto, allowing residents to buy handguns without a permit from a local sheriff. This eliminates the longstanding...

Read more

US Air Force admits to another ARRW hypersonic missile test failure

March 29, 2023
US Air Force admits to another ARRW hypersonic missile test failure

On Tuesday, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told lawmakers that the hypersonic weapon test conducted by the US Air Force on March 13th was a failure....

Read more
No Result
View All Result
Burkina Faso expels reporters from France’s Le Monde

Burkina Faso expels reporters from France’s Le Monde

April 2, 2023
UK travelers face hours-long waits for ferries to France

UK travelers face hours-long waits for ferries to France

April 2, 2023
Rumble

The Right-Wing Video Site Rumble Expands, as Does Misinformation

April 2, 2023

Tags

amazon australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus cases coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London new zealand north korea Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain T20 T20 World Cup taiwan thailand trending Trump turkey UK Ukraine usa
British Herald

Top News in World: Read Latest News on Sports, Business, Entertainment, Blogs and Opinions from leading columnists.

CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Articles
  • Asia
  • Brand Feature
  • Business
  • Climate & Environment
  • Companies
  • Crypto
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Daily Roundup
  • Economics
  • ECONOMY
  • edel
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Finance
  • Financial Markets
  • Fintech
  • Health
  • IN UK 01
  • IN UK 02
  • Investing
  • Latin America
  • Market
  • Middle East
  • nsp
  • Oceania
  • Opinion
  • Pharma/BioTech
  • Politics
  • Reviews
  • Science & Technology
  • Sport
  • Sustainability
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • UK
  • Uncategorized
  • USA
  • Videos
  • World

BROWSE BY TAGS

amazon australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus cases coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London new zealand north korea Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain T20 T20 World Cup taiwan thailand trending Trump turkey UK Ukraine usa

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?