California Wildfires Death Toll Climbs to 71 With Over 1,000 Missing

Eight more bodies were found in Northern California’s Butte County this week, bringing the death toll of the ongoing California wildfires to 71. 

The Camp Fire is reportedly 55 percent contained by firefighters. However, it has already destroyed the entire town of Paradise and burned through 222 square miles in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In addition to the 71 deaths, more than 1,000 people are reported missing as of Friday. While rain is forecast for the middle of the week, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea points out that the weather will make it much harder for crews to search the area for remains and survivors.   

“It’s a disheartening situation,” Honea told CBS News. “As much as I wish we could get through this before the rains come, I don’t know if that’s possible.”

While over a thousand people are reported missing, authorities noted that the long list of names is likely to whittle down.  

The Telegraph also cites two people who posted to Facebook that they are on the missing persons list erroneously. 

“My husband and I are not missing and never were,” Tamara Conry wrote. “We have no family looking for us…I called and left a message to take our names off.”

The Woolsey fire is also still burning near Los Angeles. Firefighters say they have that blaze 82 percent contained after it burned through nearly 154 square miles. The proximity of the flames to Hollywood has badly damaged or destroyed several A-listers’ homes. Gerard Butler shared video of his home when he returned to it, showing his Instagram followers the burned-out shell of what appeared to be his garage. Miley Cyrus and Dame Dash have also shared that they lost their homes in the fire.