Rain complicates California wildfire recovery
121 views · Published 26 November 2018 · 2:02 · Indexed 25 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(21 Nov 2018) Rain falling Wednesday in some areas of Northern California could aid crews fighting a deadly wildfire while raising the risk of flash floods and complicating efforts to recover the remains of those killed. Heavier rain was expected later in the day in the Paradise burn area, where a monstrous wildfire has killed at least 81 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes. Farther south, residents of communities charred by a Los Angeles-area fire stacked sandbags as they prepared for possible downpours that threaten to unleash runoff from hillsides left barren by flames. Forecasters say the rain could cause mudslides and rock slides. In Paradise, teams sifted through ash and debris as they searched for bodies about 140 miles northwest of San Francisco. Precipitation could hinder the search by washing away fragmentary remains and turning ash into a thick paste. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for Paradise and nearby communities and for those areas charred by wildfires earlier this year in Lake, Shasta, Trinity and Mendocino counties. The Camp Fire, which has burned an area about the size of Chicago, nearly 240 square miles, was 80 percent contained. In Southern California, people who worried days earlier that their homes might be consumed by flames were taking precautions against possible mudslides caused by the approaching storm. Residents filling sandbags in Malibu were mindful of a disaster that struck less than a year ago when a downpour on a fresh burn scar sent home-smashing debris flows through Montecito, killing 21 people and leaving two missing. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/231693a5ff7541edf9c78e907cabee23
