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NEW: Cal Fire says Atlas Fire containment is 45%, up from 3% a day before
36 killed in deadliest week of fires in state history
(CNN) —
Reinforcements from other regions are helping firefighters contain more of the largest wildfires devastating Northern California, though strong winds expected over the weekend could challenge those gains, a fire chief said Friday.
Meanwhile, officials are making grim discoveries – victims burnt beyond recognition – as they search blackened ruins of some of the 5,700 homes and business that have been destroyed.
“Some of (the remains) are merely ashes and bones,” Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said at a Thursday evening news conference. “And we may never get truly confirmative identification on ashes. When you’re cremated, you can’t get an ID.”
Thirty-six people have been killed since the wildfires began Sunday night, making this outbreak one of the deadliest in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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FRIDA/MEGA/Newscom
Aerial images showing parts of Sonoma and Napa County that have been hit by wildfires.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee/AP
Colby Clark, left, comforts her mother, Bonnie Trexler, after law enforcement escorted them to Trexler's home in Napa, California, to retrieve medicine and personal items on Wednesday, October 11. Trexler was one of the lucky few in her neighborhood whose home was spared. Deadly wildfires have been tearing through the state, destroying homes and businesses and prompting evacuation orders.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Highway Patrol officers go door to door to ask Sonoma residents to evacuate their homes as a wildfire approaches on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Homes are destroyed in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Karl Mondon/San Jose Mercury News/AP
The sign of a Firestone store malfunctions in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Ben Margot/AP
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Jeff Chiu/AP
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts after finding her wedding ring in the remains of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned-out car near Napa on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Peter DaSilva/Polaris
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Will Lester/The Orange County Register/AP
A firefighting plane helps battle a blaze just north of Tustin on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/The Press Democrat/AP
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Paul Kuroda/ZUMA Wire
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Ben Margot/AP
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area of a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Jeff Chiu/AP
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A woman moves horses in Orange as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames at a home in Anaheim on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/AP
Santa Rosa residents sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
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JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
A tent structure built for the Safeway Open golf tournament burns in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Fire consumes a barn in Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.