Death toll climbs for California wildfires to 58
The death toll from California’s historic wildfires continued its grim climb Wednesday as tempers flared over the turbulent evacuations and response.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a cadaver dog searching the rubble and ashes of a home in Agoura Hills found the remains of an unidentified person who likely died in the wind-whipped Woolsey Fire that engulfed the area last week.
“Our sheriff’s homicide detectives are conducting an apparent fire-related death investigation involving human remains found inside a burned-out residence,” department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told the Daily News.
Investigators previously found two bodies in a charred car on Mulholland Highway in Malibu.
The number of people killed by the Camp Fire some 500 miles to the north rose to 56 on Wednesday and was expected to increase substantially in the days ahead.
Butte County officials said the fire was 35% contained as of Wednesday evening. They released a partial list of people still missing that had 103 names on it.
The entire town of Paradise was effectively wiped off the map by the record-breaking blaze that erupted early Thursday and destroyed 138,000 acres and more than 10,300 structures.
Newly reelected Paradise Mayor Jody Jones is facing sharp criticism for the chaotic evacuation that led to escape routes clogged with confused drivers and disabled and abandoned vehicles.
Paradise resident Michael Orr called for Jones’ resignation at a tense town meeting.
“I’m not blaming anyone for these deaths. This was a horrific tragedy of epic proportions. But there are things that should have been done better, and it comes down to a lack of communication with the community,” Orr told The News in a phone interview Wednesday.
He said Jones touted the town’s evacuation plans during her recent campaign for reelection.
“The truth is, she is out of touch with the local population. She did not know how they were going to respond because she didn’t actually educate them. It was naïve,” Orr said.
“She is not a people person in general. Even she will admit that,” he said. “The call for her to step down is based on a lack of confidence in her ability to unite people and bring Paradise back to what it could be. It’s a fabulous community.”
Jones, who also lost her home in the fire, said she has no plans to resign.
“Well, people died, yes. It did not go perfectly,” Jones told CBS in San Francisco. “I don’t know that we could have had a plan that was better. We couldn’t get everyone out because you can’t fit 26,000 people on the roads at the same time.”
Paradise resident Albert (Pete) Moniz, 67, was on the missing list until Tuesday and told The News he barely escaped with his trusted Labrador-Chow mix.
“The only warning I had was the sun looking bright orange and the ashes falling. Flames were coming up over the hill toward my house. You could feel the heat. It felt like hell. All I saw was flames. They were licking at my heels,” Moniz said in a phone interview.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. Everything is destroyed. I’ve lived in that town for 30 years, and now it’s gone. We have to start all over again. I doubt it will be in Paradise,” he said.
Back down in southern California, officials said the number of structures destroyed by wildfire hovered around 480 on Wednesday but was expected to go higher.
