INFERNOS IN CALIFORNIA: Death toll rises to 44
Body recovery teams with sniffer dogs carried out a grim search for fire victims yesterday as thousands of weary firefighters waged a pitched battle against the deadliest infernos in California's history.
At least 44 deaths have been reported so far from the late-season wildfires and with hundreds of people unaccounted for the toll is likely to rise.
Most of the fatalities have been reported from the town of Paradise, population 26,000, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains about 80 miles north of Sacramento.
Paradise, which is home to many elderly retirees and has experienced an unusually dry fall, was virtually razed to the ground by the fast-moving "Camp Fire" blaze.
At least 42 deaths have been reported from the "Camp Fire" in Butte County and another two from the "Woolsey Fire," north of Los Angeles.
The "Camp Fire," which erupted on Thursday, has ravaged 125,000 acres of land so far and is 30 percent contained. Winds of up to 60 miles per hour have been fanning the fast-moving flames and no rainfall is forecast for the next few days. It has destroyed more than 6,500 homes and 260 commercial properties. The "Woolsey Fire," which also began on Thursday, has razed 93,662 acres .
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