Wildfires ravage California

At least 42 people are confirmed dead so far in the wildfire that turned the Northern California town of Paradise and outlying areas into a hell on earth, making it the deadliest blaze in state history. The search for bodies continued Tuesday. Authorities said they were bringing in cadaver dogs, two portable morgue units from the military and an additional 160 search and rescue personnel to help find human remains.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/11/2018 (2191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At least 42 people are confirmed dead so far in the wildfire that turned the Northern California town of Paradise and outlying areas into a hell on earth, making it the deadliest blaze in state history. The search for bodies continued Tuesday. Authorities said they were bringing in cadaver dogs, two portable morgue units from the military and an additional 160 search and rescue personnel to help find human remains.

The blaze was part of an outbreak of wildfires on both ends of the state. Together, they were blamed for 44 deaths, including two in celebrity-studded Malibu in Southern California, where firefighters appeared to be gaining ground against a roughly 370-square-kilometre blaze that destroyed at least 370 structures, with hundreds more feared lost.

More than 8,000 firefighters statewide were battling wildfires that destroyed more than 7,000 structures and scorched more than 840 square kilometres, the flames feeding on dry brush and driven by blowtorch winds.

A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)

The 42 dead in Northern California made this blaze the deadliest single fire on record, surpassing the toll from a 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles that killed 29 people. A series of wildfires in Northern California’s wine country last fall killed 44 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes.

— The Associated Press

A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
A firefighter battles a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
An air tanker drops water on a fire in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
An air tanker drops water on a fire in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / The Associated Press)
Roger Bloxberg and his wife Anne hug as they watch a wildfire on a hill near their home Friday in West Hills, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / The Associated Press)
Roger Bloxberg and his wife Anne hug as they watch a wildfire on a hill near their home Friday in West Hills, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / The Associated Press)
Flames climb trees as a fire tears through Paradise, Calif. (Noah Berger / The Associated Press)
Flames climb trees as a fire tears through Paradise, Calif. (Noah Berger / The Associated Press)
Fire crews clear rubble from the road near a building burned Monday in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
Fire crews clear rubble from the road near a building burned Monday in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
Charred remains of mobile homes line a street at a mobile home park burned in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
Charred remains of mobile homes line a street at a mobile home park burned in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
A burned surfboard and a van are all that remain in the front of a destroyed home in the Point Dome neighborhood in Malibu, Calif., Monday. (Richard Vogel / The Associated Press)
A burned surfboard and a van are all that remain in the front of a destroyed home in the Point Dome neighborhood in Malibu, Calif., Monday. (Richard Vogel / The Associated Press)
A body is recovered from Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif., as the search continues for victims of the Camp Fire. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
A body is recovered from Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif., as the search continues for victims of the Camp Fire. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
LA County firefighter Battalion 13 Captain Victor Correa helps put out hotspot in a neighbourhood razed by the Woolsey fire on Harvester road in Malibu, Calif. Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
LA County firefighter Battalion 13 Captain Victor Correa helps put out hotspot in a neighbourhood razed by the Woolsey fire on Harvester road in Malibu, Calif. Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Adam Rodriguez puts foam on a hotspot of a home on Mulholland Drive Monday in the Malibu Hills. Two vehicles removed from the long driveway of the home are suspected to be the location where two people lost their lives in the fire storm, (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Adam Rodriguez puts foam on a hotspot of a home on Mulholland Drive Monday in the Malibu Hills. Two vehicles removed from the long driveway of the home are suspected to be the location where two people lost their lives in the fire storm, (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park resident Barbara Sottile walks past homes of friends destroyed by the Woolsey Fire on Mulholland Drive in Agoura Hills, Calif. Nearly 200 of the 270 homes in Seminole Springs were destroyed. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park resident Barbara Sottile walks past homes of friends destroyed by the Woolsey Fire on Mulholland Drive in Agoura Hills, Calif. Nearly 200 of the 270 homes in Seminole Springs were destroyed. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Ricky Alvarado looks over the charred remains of his home at the Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park on Sunday in Agoura Hills, Calif. (Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press)
Ricky Alvarado looks over the charred remains of his home at the Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park on Sunday in Agoura Hills, Calif. (Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press)
Santos Alvarado (right) and his son Ricky recover a safe deposit box from their destroyed home at Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park, Sunday in Agoura Hills, Calif. (Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press)
Santos Alvarado (right) and his son Ricky recover a safe deposit box from their destroyed home at Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park, Sunday in Agoura Hills, Calif. (Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press)
The outline of a mobile homes is all that remains in the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The outline of a mobile homes is all that remains in the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Burned out mountains tower over a residential neighborhood in the aftermath of a wildfire Monday in Westlake Village, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / The Associated Press)
Burned out mountains tower over a residential neighborhood in the aftermath of a wildfire Monday in Westlake Village, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / The Associated Press)
Residents watch from their roofs as firefighters stop the forward progress of the Peak Fire in Simi Valley, Calif. Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Residents watch from their roofs as firefighters stop the forward progress of the Peak Fire in Simi Valley, Calif. Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Flames consume a home in Paradise, Calif., on Thursday. (Noah Berger The Associated Press)
Flames consume a home in Paradise, Calif., on Thursday. (Noah Berger The Associated Press)
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Firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames consume a home in Magalia, Calif., on Friday. (Noah Berger / The Associated Press)
CP Firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames consume a home in Magalia, Calif., on Friday. (Noah Berger / The Associated Press)
Outside of Pulga, Calif., on the North Fork of the Feather River on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Outside of Pulga, Calif., on the North Fork of the Feather River on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Officials stand over human remains at a burned out home destroyed Sunday in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
Officials stand over human remains at a burned out home destroyed Sunday in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher / The Associated Press)
A burned cat waits for animal control to arrive after they were called by responders who discovered it in Paradise, Calif. on Sunday. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)
A burned cat waits for animal control to arrive after they were called by responders who discovered it in Paradise, Calif. on Sunday. (Jane Tyska / Bay Area News Group)
Along Highway 70, the hills are covered by a blanket of smoke, as the Camp Fire continues to burn on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Along Highway 70, the hills are covered by a blanket of smoke, as the Camp Fire continues to burn on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Outside of Pulga, Calif. on the North Fork of the Feather River, helicopters do airdrops while ground crews try to keep the fire from spreading on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Outside of Pulga, Calif. on the North Fork of the Feather River, helicopters do airdrops while ground crews try to keep the fire from spreading on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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