The extensive wildfire that took the lives of dozens and demolished thousands of homes in Northern California has been fully contained after it burned for over two weeks, authorities declared on Sunday.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Camp Fire has been encircled by firefighters after a few days of rain in the Paradise area.
CBN News reports that the most destructive wildfire to occur in the past century took the lives of at least 85 people, with 249 unaccounted for. Fortunately, the number of missing people dropped in the past few days as officials confirmed that more people were alive.
As time went on, crews continued to comb through debris and ash for human remains. The fire began on November 8th in the scorched Sierra Nevada foothills and hastily made its way across 240 square miles, consuming the majority of Paradise within a day.
An astonishing 19,000 buildings, most of which were homes, are now destroyed.
Last week, the first considerable winter storm to blow through California was the force needed to push the fight against the fire. Over a three-day period, the storm dropped an approximated 7 inches of rain without causing serious mudslides, according to Hannah Chandler-Cooley of the National Weather Service.
Jennifer Erickson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, reported to MarketWatch.com: “We’re confident that it’s not going to move out of the containment lines.”
While crews fixed power, telephone and gas utilities, many residents of Southern California returned to areas that had been evacuated.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials state that they were in the final phase of repopulating Malibu and unincorporated spaces of the city. When the fire reached its peak, 250,000 residents deserted their homes.
According to officials, three people passed away and numerous buildings were decimated.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/David McNew/Stringer
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