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U.S. NEWS Friday 23 November 2018

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Northern California rain hampers

life for wildfire survivors

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE of communities charred are tough to listen to all this
Associated Press by a Los Angeles-area crap."
CHICO, Calif. (AP) — Amy fire stacked sandbags as Officials said 563 people
Sheppard packs her be- they prepared for possible were still unaccounted for.
longings into a plastic gar- downpours that threaten A spokeswoman for ANDE,
bage bag as rain drips to unleash runoff from hill- the company doing rapid
around her, readying to sides left barren by flames. DNA tests on remains, said
move on from a field by a Residents were mindful of a Wednesday the family Amy Sheppard accepts banana bread from Margarita and
Walmart where thousands disaster that struck less than members of missing people William Bradbury as she packs up items outside her tent in a
of evacuees had taken ref- a year ago when a down- who live outside the state Walmart parking lot in Chico, Calif., that's been a makeshift
uge from a deadly North- pour on a fresh burn scar can give a DNA swab at campground for people displaced by wildfire, Wednesday
ern California wildfire. sent home-smashing debris their local sheriff's office to morning, Nov. 21, 2018. Associated Press
Sheppard, 38, her sister flows through Montecito, be sent to California.q
and niece, who is 1, are killing 21 people and leav-
looking to move into a dry ing two missing.
hotel after camping in the The 151-square-mile
field for four days. They lost (391-square-kilometer)
their home in Magalia and Woolsey Fire in the Los
the jewelry-maker tears up Angeles area was almost
as she thinks about what's entirely contained after
next."This rain is making it so three people were killed
hard," she said. and more than 1,600 struc-
Rain falling Wednesday tures destroyed.In Northern
in some areas of Northern California, the wildfire that
California could help crews started two weeks ago has
fighting a deadly wildfire. torched an area in Butte
But it could also raise the County about the size of
risk of flash floods, compli- Chicago — nearly 240
cate efforts to recover re- square miles (622 square
mains and make life even kilometers) — and was 85
more difficult for people percent contained.
like Sheppard who have A spokesman for the Gov-
nowhere to go. ernor's Office of Emer-
Heavier rain is expected gency Services says state
later in the day in the Par- officials will start removing
adise burn area, which is hazardous waste from the
about 140 miles (225 kilo- burn area "beginning next
meters) north of San Fran- week.""This will take several
cisco, where the Camp Fire months," Eric Lamoureux
has killed at least 83 peo- said. "That ash is still toxic."
ple, including two victims Former California Gov.
who were found Wednes- Arnold Schwarzeneg-
day in burned homes. The ger made a surprise visit
blaze also destroyed more to weary firefighters on
than 13,000 homes. Wednesday, providing en-
"The rain is really a double- couragement and helping
edged sword for this fire," serve breakfast.
said Rick Carhart, a spokes- "I wanted to let you know
man with the California how much I appreciate all
Department of Forestry the work that you do," he
and Fire Protection. He said told firefighters during a
searchers have "been able brief speech.
to sift through this really fine The 71-year-old actor also
ash and when rain gets slammed President Don-
onto that really fine ash, it ald Trump for blaming the
turns it into sort of a muddy wildfire on poor forest man-
muck and makes it a lot agement. He told firefight-
more difficult." ers, "you are tough to not
Farther south, residents only fight the fires, but you