Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Search Teams Scour For Human Remains As Camp Fire Becomes Deadliest In California's History
The Associated Press: Holding Out Slim Hope As Crews Search For More Fire Dead
More than a dozen coroner search and recovery teams looked for human remains from a Northern California wildfire that killed at least 42 -- making it the deadliest in state history -- as anxious relatives visited shelters and called police hoping to find loved ones alive. (Mendoza and Flaccus, 11/13)
Sacramento Bee: Camp Fire Becomes California’s Most Deadly Blaze With 42 Fatalities So Far
The death toll from the Camp Fire reached 42 Monday, making the Northern California blaze the deadliest fire in state history. The number of fatalities far outstrips the 1933 Griffith Park Fire that killed 29 people in Los Angeles. With hundreds still reported missing in Butte County, the total is expected to grow. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said 13 more victims were found Monday, 10 in the Paradise area and three in Concow. Honea said eight of the victims were found inside homes, the others outside. (Sabalow, Yoon-Hendricks, Stanton and Sullivan, 11/12)
San Jose Mercury News: Camp Fire Death Toll Climbs To 42 With Many Still Missing
The devastating number of people who have perished is almost certain to rise as rescue and recovery workers sift through the ruins and ashes of houses. An untold number of people remain missing, and it could be days or weeks before their loved ones have answers. More than 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures have burned to the ground or been damaged beyond repair, leaving people shell-shocked and wondering how they will pick up the pieces. (Deruy and Bouscher, 11/12)
The New York Times: California Fire Death Toll Now At 44 With Discovery Of 13 More Bodies
Allyn Pierce was trapped by a wall of fire as he tried to flee the flames coming closer and closer to his truck. Chris Gonzalez counted the ever-narrowing escape routes from his home as the highlands around him erupted into flames. Rebecca Hackett was engulfed by a red-orange hellscape as she sped toward safety in her car. “I was like, ‘I think I’m done,’” said Mr. Pierce, a registered nurse who was trapped in traffic in Paradise, Calif., where most of the community was burned. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.’” (Del Real and Nicas, 11/12)
Los Angeles Times: Another Day Of Grim Discoveries As Death Toll Rises To 42 In Camp Fire
[Butte County Sheriff Kory] Honea said anthropologists from Cal State Chico and the University of Nevada, Reno with expertise in identifying human remains were helping in the grim search effort into mass casualties. In addition, Honea has requested 150 additional search and recovery workers, two military mobile morgues and a rapid DNA identification system. “I understand the toll that it takes on people not knowing what became of their loved ones,” the sheriff said. “My sincere hope is I don’t have to come each night and report a higher and higher number.” (Serna, Mason, Smith, 11/13)
The Washington Post: Caught In The Inferno: How The Camp Fire Overwhelmed Paradise
It took only days for the blaze to become the most destructive in California history. (11/12)
The Associated Press: Scientists: Wind, Drought Worsen Fires, Not Bad Management
Both nature and humans share blame for California's devastating wildfires, but forest management did not play a major role, despite President Donald Trump's claims, fire scientists say. Nature provides the dangerous winds that have whipped the fires, and human-caused climate change over the long haul is killing and drying the shrubs and trees that provide the fuel, experts say. (Borenstein, 11/12)
San Jose Mercury News: Some Tips On Dealing With Air Pollution
With thick acrid smoke being swept into the Bay Area from the Camp Fire nearly 200 miles to the northeast, residents from Monterey to Napa are getting a taste -literally – of what residents in smog-choked cities like Beijing have been choking on for years now. And while it feels a bit shameful to complain, as the wildfire’s death toll climbs higher each day, the air quality in San Francisco and neighboring towns is threatening to meet or break records set just last year when the Bay Area filled with smoke from the North Bay fires. (May, 11/12)
The Washington Post: Ventura Shooting: Mass Shootings Are Increasingly Common. Grieving One While Escaping From Wildfires Is Not.
Volunteer chaplains hovered outside the crime scene Saturday afternoon when the trio of friends settled beneath the caution tape and started assembling. They had white computer paper, permanent markers, black electrical tape and 12 U.S. flags — one for each victim of the mass shooting inside Borderline Bar and Grill last week. (Mettler, 11/12)
Politico: Trump's California Rants Belie Feds' Quick Disaster Response
President Donald Trump has repeatedly used his bully pulpit to threaten California’s federal funding, but the government — and his own party in Congress — don’t seem to be listening. After Trump’s latest threat over the weekend to withdraw funding, some feared the president may punish the Democratic-led state during one of its deadliest environmental disasters in modern history. But if recent history and the response from lawmakers are any guide, there is little reason to believe federal payments for disaster relief will be cut off. (Schreckinger and Cadelago, 11/12)
