MAGALIA, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local):
7:55 a.m.
Southern California firefighters are battling a new wildfire but there is much less wind than the region experienced over the past week.
The fire burning Thursday near the Ventura County city of Santa Paula is northwest of the huge area scorched by the so-called Woolsey Fire that started last week.
The new blaze is estimated at between 75 and 100 acres (30 and 40 hectares). Although winds are greatly reduced, conditions remain very dry.
In the Woolsey Fire area that affected many suburbs of Los Angeles, some evacuation orders remain in effect but many areas have been repopulated.
The fire area is now measured at more than 153 square miles (396 square kilometers) and estimates of destroyed structures top 500.
Authorities continue to investigate a body found Wednesday in a completely burned home. Two other people were found dead in a burned-out car earlier during the fire.
A firefighter assigned to the Woolsey Fire was struck by a private vehicle early Thursday and hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening.
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7:45 a.m.
Cool weather is helping fire crews increase their containment of the Northern California deadly blaze that razed a town and killed at least 56 people.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday the wildfire that destroyed the town of Paradise is now 40 percent contained, up from 30 percent Wednesday morning.
The blaze has charred nearly 220 square miles (570 square kilometers) since it started Nov. 8 in hills east of Paradise, swept through the town and neighboring communities.
Butte County Sheriff's Kory Honea told reporters Wednesday night that 130 people are on a missing list.
More than 450 people had now been assigned to comb through charred debris in the search for human remains.
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12 a.m.
Many of the missing in the deadly Northern California wildfire are elderly residents in Magalia, a forested town of about 11,000 north of the destroyed town of Paradise.
More than 450 people have been assigned to comb through charred remains in search of the 130 people who are still unaccounted for.
Already, at least 56 people have been confirmed dead.
A week after the fire struck, police teams drive around Magalia searching for those still in their homes, checking if they need any food and water.
With the death toll at 56, it is the deadliest wildfire in a century. There were also three fatalities from separate blazes in Southern California.
