California wildfires: Death toll touches 48

Paradise (California), Nov 14: Charred remains of six more victims were found on Tuesday, November 13, in and around a town in northern California which was hit by horrific wildfires last week and it raised the death toll to 48. The ongoing wildfire crisis has been the most destructive in the history of the Golden State.

Butte County sheriff Kory Honea announced the latest tally as forensic teams searched through a town covered with ash and debris in the town Paradise, located about 28 kilometres north of the state capital of San Francisco.

Once a home to 27,000 people, Paradise now has over 7,000 houses and other buildings that lie in ruins. The sheriff had earlier said that 228 people were listed to be missing while search was on to see the fate of nearly 1,300 people, reports added.

While over 50,000 residents remained under the evacuation orders and over 15,000 structures were listed as threatened by the fire, reduced winds and higher humidity levels allowed the firefighters to make advancement against the blaze.