Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Wildfire Death Toll Climbs To Become One Of Most Deadly On Record
The Associated Press: Death Toll Rises In California Wildfire, Matching Deadliest
As relatives desperately searched shelters for missing loved ones on Sunday, crews searching the smoking ruins of Paradise and outlying areas found six more bodies, raising the death toll to 29, matching the deadliest wildfire in California history. Wildfires continued to rage on both ends of the state, with gusty winds expected overnight which will challenge firefighters. The statewide death toll stood at 31. The Camp Fire that ravaged a swath of Northern California was the deadliest. (Flaccus and Selsky, 11/11)
Sacramento Bee: 228 Missing, 29 Dead In California Wildfire
The death toll, which increased by six on Sunday, equals the death toll from the 1933 Griffith Fire in Los Angeles as the worst mass-casualty wildland fire ever in the state. The Oakland hills Tunnel Fire in 1991 caused 25 deaths. The fire slowed some on Sunday, but officials said the risk of flaring remains high and winds are once again a threat overnight. (Sabalow, Valine and Bizjak, 11/11)
Los Angeles Times: Death Toll Jumps To 29 In Camp Fire
The first bodies found after the fire passed were in a car on the road. Some survivors said they had only minutes to escape. Five of the bodies found Sunday were in homes. One was in a vehicle. Much of the area has still not been searched, and scores of people remain missing. “What I will say is we are very early in our efforts,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. “There is still a great deal of work to do.” (Sahagun and Serna, 11/12)
San Francisco Chronicle: More Than 200 Remain Missing In Camp Fire
The fire was just starting to pick up its pace Thursday morning when Greg Carota last spoke to his twin brother. Vinnie Carota, 65 years old and disabled, said he was sticking it out, even as his roommate and a sister-in-law offered him a ride. Vinnie said he was staying, even as Greg angrily pleaded over the phone for him not to. And then the line went silent. Every call went unanswered the rest of Thursday. Then the same silence on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Gutierrez, 11/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Firefighters Battle Deadly California Wildfires
The Camp Fire in Butte County, about 100 miles north of Sacramento, grew slightly to a total of 109,000 acres on Sunday, after destroying an estimated 6,500 homes and 260 businesses, mostly in the city of Paradise. At least five victims of the fire were found trapped in charred vehicles as they tried to flee the fast-moving blaze, authorities said. ... In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire expanded to 83,275 acres Sunday morning, after leaving an estimated 177 homes and other structures destroyed in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and at least two known fatalities. More than 200,000 people remained evacuated from their homes on Sunday, including in Thousand Oaks where a gunman fatally shot 12 people in the Borderline Bar and Grill before apparently taking his own life. (Carlton, 11/11)
San Jose Mercury News: Camp Fire's Unforgettable Tales Of Escape - 'This Is When I Die'
It’s the terror, the sheer terror of being stuck in a vehicle in bumper to bumper traffic with flames closing in and nowhere to go that haunts them most. On the main road that locals affectionately called “the Skyway to Paradise,” many of those trapped in the nerve-wracking slow-motion evacuation Thursday morning said their goodbyes, whispered their prayers and wondered, is this the end? (Sulek, 11/10)
San Jose Mercury News: Camp Fire Smoke: ‘Everybody Is At Risk' From Poor Air Quality
Just as Californians have long been told to prepare for earthquakes, they must now start protecting their health from the wildfires becoming more commonplace in this state, experts warned Sunday. That means learning how to monitor the smoke-filled air from raging fires — and avoid breathing it. (Geha, 11/11)
Sacramento Bee: Sacramento CA To Give Residents Masks Due To Wildfire Smoke
The city of Sacramento is offering its residents free respirator masks to deal with smoke and worsening air quality caused by the Camp Fire. The fire, which started Thursday, has been steadily pushing smoke into the Sacramento region and raised the Air Quality Index number to 367 in some Sacramento neighborhoods Saturday. That is considered hazardous for all people regardless of age or physical health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Morgan, 11/11)
