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U.S. NEWS Saturday 17 November 2018

Number of missing hard to peg in deadly California wildfire

By JANIE HAR dispatch reports.
Associated Press Jan Walcott of Oakland
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — has been tweeting since
Authorities have released the day after the fire start-
a list of more than 600 peo- ed Nov. 8 that she was
ple who are unaccounted looking for her 78-year-old
for after a deadly Northern sister, Joyce Acheson, who
California wildfire — but lives in Paradise and has
that doesn’t mean they disabilities.
are all actually missing. When the list of 631 missing
Some of the people on the emerged, her sister’s name
ever-evolving list compiled was on it, along with some-
by the Butte County sher- one with a similar spelling,
iff’s office have been con- Joyce Atchison — prompt-
firmed dead by family and ing speculation they might
friends on social media. be the same person. But
Others have been found that’s not the case.
safe, but authorities have “There were two people
not yet marked them as with similar names, and it
such. caused confusion,” Wal-
And some, like Tamara cott said.
Conry, say they never The wildfire has killed at
should have been on the least 63 people, with the In this Nov. 13, 2018 file photo, messages are shown on a bulletin board at The Neighborhood
list. number climbing daily. Church in Chico, Calif., as evacuees, family and friends search for people missing from the
“My husband and I are not Sheriff’s office spokeswom- northern California wildfire.
missing and never were!” an Miranda Bowersox said Associated Press
Conry wrote Thursday night Friday that the list of peo-
on a Facebook page dedi- ple who are unaccounted
cated to finding people for is not a real-time reflec-
from the fire zone in and tion of who is missing.
around the incinerated She said the office is dis-
town of Paradise. “We tributing the names widely
have no family looking for in the hope anyone on
us ... I called and left a mes- it might call in and say
sage to take our names they’re OK.
off.” “They might not be in the
The confusion stems from area anymore. There might
the difficulty authorities be friends and family here
face putting together a who don’t know they left,
tally of the missing as they that they went to another
pore through hundreds area,” she said.
of reports filed by people Conry, whose Paradise
who could not reach loved house escaped largely
ones in the aftermath of a unscathed, said she left a
blaze that spread with as- voicemail with the sheriff’s
tonishing speed last week. office Thursday night and
It became the deadliest called again Friday morn-
U.S. wildfire in a century. ing and talked to a person.
Butte County Sheriff Kory “She was excited to hear
Honey initially said 110 that we were OK,” said
were missing, then revised Conry, who is 55 and not 72
the number to more than as the list reported.
220. He put it at 130 on Conry said friends and
Wednesday but released a family knew she and her
list the same night with 300 husband were all right be-
names. He dramatically cause they had her cell-
raised the number to 631 phone numbers and she
late Thursday. was posting on social me-
He acknowledged the list dia. She realizes that might
is “dynamic” and includes not be the case for others.
reports of missing people “Nobody calls our home
from the disaster’s frantic line except for telemarket-
early hours when authori- ers,” she said.
ties were flooded with calls. In last year’s wine country
“The chaos that we were wildfires, Sonoma County
dealing with was extraor- authorities at one point list-
dinary. Now, we’re trying ed more than 2,000 people
to go back out and make as missing but slowly whit-
sure that we’re accounting tled down the number. In
for everyone,” Honea said, the end, 44 people died in
explaining that deputies that series of fires in several
were recording the earliest California counties.q