31 Dead More than 200 Missing in Fires in Northern & Southern California

*UPDATE The death toll for the Northern California fire dubbed "Camp Fire" has now risen to 42, making it the deadliest in state history. Officials say that the fire is now 30% contained and has scorched 117,000 acres. 

At least 31 people have been killed by two massive blazes currently raging in Northern and Southern California with thousands of homes still under threat as gusty winds threaten to make an already bad situation worse. 

"This week, California has experienced the most destructive fires we have seen in its history. There are 196,000 acres burned, thousands of homes and dozens of lives lost," Chief Scott Jalbert of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said at a press conference Sunday morning.

In Northern California, the deadly Camp Fire has burned at least 109,000 acres, and destroyed more than 6,600 structures in Butte County. Twenty-nine people have been killed by the fire with another 228 people still unaccounted for as of early Monday morning.  The blaze, which ignited Thursday, spread quickly through communities in the Sierra foothills, essentially wiping out the small idealylic town of Paradise. At least five firefighters have been injured by the blaze. 

The Camp Fire is currently 25 percent contained according to Cal Fire officials.

Further south, weary firefighters who are fighting the Woolsey and Hill Fires have another long day ahead of them as another Santa Ana wind event is forecast for the region through Wednesday. The hot, dry Santa Ana winds helped The Woolsey Fire has burned at least 91,500 acres since breaking out Thursday afternoon. That fire is currently twenty percent contained, officials said. 

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated as a result of the fires, the outgoing Gov told reporters Sunday afternoon. Several multi-million dollar mansions along with mobile homes have been consumed by the fire, Cal Fire said. The fire jumped Pacific Coast Highway about 10 p.m. Friday night as it headed toward Malibu Colony. 

The National Park Service for the Santa Monica Mountains tweeted that the famed Western Town at Paramount Ranch, where hundreds of TV and movies have been filmed, including HBO's "Westworld" had been burned. Officials said they were unsure to the extent of the damage to the famed movie ranch. 

During an update Sunday night, Gov. Jerry Brown said he had requested a "Major Disaster Declaration" from the federal government to activate funding that would help agencies across the state fight the immense wildfires in both Northern California (Camp Fire) and Southern California (Woolsey Fire). 

"This is not the new normal, this is the new abnormal," Brown warned. "And unfortunately, science tells us this will be the normal for the next ten to fifteen years.

"Managing all the forests in everywhere we can does not stop climate change," Brown said. "And those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we're now witnessing, and will continue to witness in the coming years."

More than 3,200 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze that is so far only 20 percent contained. Cal Fire says at least 57,000 structures still remain under threat with the total number of structures destroyed at 177. Officials say they expect that number to rise in the coming days as assessment crews are able to get in and survey the fire damaged areas. 

Full containment of the Woolsey Fire is expected by Nov. 17, officials said. 

Photos: Getty Images, Corbin Carson, Andrew Mollenbeck, Monica Rix, Kris Ankarlo. 


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