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At least 475 people remain unaccounted for, down from more than 1,000 days earlier, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.
California’s deadliest wildfire, which started November 8, remained 95% contained after rain helped firefighters extinguish some of the hot spots, Cal Fire, the state’s forestry and fire protection agency, said Saturday morning.
“The fire line that remains uncontained is located in steep and rugged terrain where it is unsafe for firefighters to access due to the heavy rains,” Cal Fire said. Firefighters continue to monitor the area and will reassess when it’s safe.
After days of rain, all flood warnings and watches have expired in the state, with dry weather expected Saturday, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.
The grim search for human remains has continued for days in the hard-hit town of Paradise, but it came temporarily to a standstill Friday after rain and strong winds made fire-weakened trees dangerous, CNN affiliate KCRA reported. The search resumed after the winds calmed down.
“You look up, and you see these things hanging in the trees, and now they’re blowing around real hard and fall down,” Craig Covey of the Orange County Fire Authority told the TV station.
Rain helped with hot spots
Covey’s part of the effort to recover remains. He said while the rain helped douse some of the fire and made things easier for the dogs helping out, it also complicated search efforts.
But too much rain can also wash away remains or bury them in the caked mud, making them harder to find.
CNN’s Hollie Silverman and Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.
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