The task is painstaking and painful. A searcher is given the name of someone who is unaccounted for and an address.
A team heads over to the property, more than likely one where every evidence of life has been wiped out by flames. Many of the searchers are local and have lost their own homes. Now they look to see whether they can find the remains of their neighbors.
Five more sets of remains were found Saturday, Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea said.
There are now at least 76 dead from the Camp Fire, which has obliterated more structures and lives than any previous fire in California.
“We’re all going to work together and we’ll do a real job, but this is very sad to see,” Trump said.
A list of people unaccounted for has almost 1,300 names on it. Officials hope they find those people at shelters, or that missing people were simply without phone service and will eventually call in, or that they will figure out duplicate names when reconciling the list.
They are also trying to help thousands of people who did make it out alive but have nowhere to go, except for the parking lot of a Walmart and other places that are hosting thousands in their vehicles and tents.
“It is overwhelming, I don’t have any word to describe it,” Honea told CNN on Saturday. “This is unprecedented. No one has had to deal with this magnitude that caused so much destruction and regrettably so much death.”
In addition to the dozens killed, three other deaths were reported in the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, bringing the statewide death toll from the wildfires to 74.
Meanwhile, three deaths have been reported in the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, bringing the statewide death toll from the wildfires to 79.
Searchers work at a property in Paradise where human remains were found Friday.
‘A lot of people don’t know … we’re looking for them’
Officials have said it’s hard to determine the number of missing. Some who may have evacuated can’t be reached because cell phone service is unreliable, while others haven’t reached out to relatives, and they may not know someone is looking for them, Honea said.
“That is raw data we’re collecting from phone calls, emails and the 911 system,” Honea said Saturday. “It’s not perfect data, but our thought process is that it’s better to get that information out to help start getting people accounted for. So rather than wait for perfection, we’re trying to get some progress going.”
Hundreds of deputies, National Guard troops, coroners and anthropologists are sifting through leveled homes and mangled cars for remains. While the focus is on the homes of people reported missing, some teams are going down streets from one property to the next.
“I want you to understand that there are a lot of people displaced, and we’re finding that a lot of people don’t know that we’re looking for them,” the sheriff said.
If people find their own or loved ones’ names on the list at the Butte County Sheriff’s Office’s website, they should call the sheriff’s office, Honea said.
In the midst of despair, hope remains. The mayor of Paradise told CNN Saturday that she is committed to rebuilding her town, as is the town council.
“Paradise is not gone,” Jody Jones said, citing a friend’s Facebook post. “It’s just closed for remodeling.”
Some heroes drive garbage trucks
Vaughan said she’s worried about how she’s going to explain to her 7-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son that she’ll likely have to move away while they find some level of stability.
She had no phone service and no electricity, and she was just hoping someone would see her and come help.
Newsum recently broke her back and uses a walker to get around, which made it tricky to get up into the cab of his garbage truck. Cummings and some neighbors lifted her up and buckled her in, and they strapped her walker to the side of the truck.
Harrison, a single father, decided Newsum shouldn’t go to an evacuation center so instead he took her home with him.
And she’ll be there a while. Newsum’s home wasn’t destroyed, but it might be months before she can live there again.
Escape took them through ditches, front yards
With each day another story comes that makes it clearer how chaotic it was on the flame-filled and smoky day that the fire erupted.
Dan Newman, a team captain with the Butte County Sheriff’s search and rescue team, said he originally was tasked with going door to door to alert people in the community of Concow to the fire.
The mission quickly changed to go to Paradise, about a 20-mile drive away, where a hospital was in danger.
“When we arrived at the hospital there were already flames, and all of a sudden the urgency just skyrocketed,” he said.
His team went around to the ER entrance and threw four patients in its truck.
A hospital evacuation involved every kind of vehicle – ambulances, police cars, buses, personal cars.
The road that went by the hospital was swamped with cars and accidents. Drivers used every bit of open space they could, including ditches and racing through front yards, to get by.
The fire was faster than any vehicle was moving.
“We had homes on fire on each side,” he said, adding that there were times when he feared for their lives.
They got out, but another team couldn’t and ended up back at the hospital.
3 deaths in Southern California
Meanwhile, the Woolsey Fire in Southern California has claimed three lives and destroyed 548 structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said Cal Fire, the state’s forestry and fire protection agency.
More than 98,000 acres have been burned since the blaze began November 8, while evacuees remain in shelters, and portions of Malibu and nearby areas must be rebuilt, officials said. It was 82% contained on Saturday morning, Cal Fire reported.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
Jacob Saylors, 11, walks through the burned remains of his home in Paradise, California, on Sunday, November 18. His family lost a home in the same spot to a fire 10 years earlier.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Noah Berger/AP
Lidia Steineman, who lost her home in the Camp Fire, prays during a vigil for fire victims on November 18 in Chico, California. More than 50 people gathered at the memorial service.
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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
From left, California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, California Gov. Jerry Brown, President Donald Trump, Paradise Mayor Jody Jones and FEMA Administrator Brock Long survey damage left by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Saturday, November 17. The death toll from the Camp Fire has risen to 76 and more than 1,200 people remain unaccounted for.
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Leah Millis/Reuters
A child wears a smoke mask while watching President Trump''s motorcade in Chico on November 17.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Fire evacuees sift through donated items in a Chico parking lot November 17.
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Evan Vucci/AP
A group of children hold an American flag as the motorcade of President Donald Trump drives through Chico, California, on November 17.
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John Locher/AP
A firefighter searches for human remains on Friday, November 16, in a Paradise trailer park destroyed in the Camp Fire.
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Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump visits a neighborhood impacted by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California, on November 17.
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John Locher/AP
Dakota Keltner, right, rests on Havyn Cargill-Morris on November 16 in a truck at a makeshift encampment outside a Walmart store in Chico, California. The camp became a temporary respite for people displaced by the Camp Fire.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
A burned neighborhood is seen on Thursday, November 15, in Paradise, California.
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Rescue workers sift through rubble in search of human remains on Wednesday, November 14, at a burned property in Paradise.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
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Firefighters work to control the Camp Fire on November 14 north of Oroville, California.
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Noah Berger/AP
Evacuee Denise Chester hugs her son, Antonio Batres, as she volunteers her time sorting clothes on November 14 at a makeshift shelter in Chico. Chester, who didn't want to know yet whether her home survived, said: "I want to help. I don't want to shut down."
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Noah Berger/AP
Tape outlines the location where sheriff's deputies on November 14 recovered the body of a Camp Fire victim.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Joel Angel Juarez/ZUMA Wire
Magalia resident Luis Badres and his family left his home because of the Camp Fire. They were living in a tent on Tuesday, November 13, in the parking lot of a Chico Walmart.
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Reed Saxon/AP
A long line of residents seeking to return to Malibu wait at a checkpoint on November 13 on Pacific Coast Highway after Woolsey Fire evacuation orders were lifted for the eastern portion of the city.
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A helicopter flies near the Woolsey Fire burning in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
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Jae C. Hong/AP
Roger Kelton wipes away tears on November 13 while searching through the remains of his mother-in-law's home in Agoura Hills. It was destroyed by the Woolsey Fire.
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Jae C. Hong/AP
A melted fence runs along a hillside as firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire in Agoura Hills on November 13.
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Terry Sylvester/Reuters
Firefighters search through the remains of a Paradise house on November 13.
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Amanda Myers/AP
Smoke fills the horizon on November 13 as an airplane flies near a flare-up of the Woolsey Fire near Lake Sherwood.
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John Locher/AP
A fire truck drives through part of Paradise on November 13.
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Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley on Monday, November 12.
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Samantha Esau and Emily Garcia take in stray cats from an evacuated Paradise home on November 12.
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Mason Trinca/Washington Post/Getty Images
Firefighters put out hot spots in Paradise on November 12.
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Hector Amezcua/AP
Joseph Grado and his wife, Susan, embrace at a shelter in Chico on November 12. The Camp Fire destroyed their home.
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Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
A firefighter battles a fire in Simi Valley on November 12.
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A plane drops fire retardant on the Woolsey Fire near Malibu on November 12.
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Peter Banda/AP
Betsy Ann Cowley walks through Pulga, near where investigators were trying to determine the cause of the Camp Fire.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
A resident sprays down a roof as firefighters battle the Peak Fire in Simi Valley.
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John Locher/AP
Shawn Slack carries a chainsaw on November 12 after trees burned in Paradise.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Chris and Nancy Brown embrace while looking over the remains of their home on November 12.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
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Firefighters put out hot spots in Thousand Oaks on November 12.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Firefighters battle a fire in Simi Valley on November 12.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Eric Risberg/AP
A ferry makes its way toward Alcatraz Island on November 12 as the San Francisco skyline is obscured by smoke that drifted over from the Camp Fire.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Noah Berger/AP
A vehicle drives through smoke near Pulga on Sunday, November 11.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Eric Thayer/Reuters
Firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on November 11.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Noah Berger/AP
A helicopter drops water while battling the Camp Fire near Pulga on November 11.
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Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
Firefighters work at the Salvation Army Camp in Malibu on Saturday, November 10.
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John Locher/AP
A bag containing human remains lies on the ground on November 11 as officials continue to search for victims at a burned-out home in Paradise.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Stephen Lam/REUTERS
Cathy Fallon, who stayed behind in Paradise to tend to her horses during the Camp Fire, embraces Shawna De Long, left, and April Smith, right, who brought supplies for the horses.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
Firefighters douse embers off a canyon road that cuts across the mountains to Malibu.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Jae C. Hong/AP
A plane drops fire retardant on a burning hillside in Malibu on November 11.
Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
Stephen Lam/Reuters
Evacuee Brian Etter and his dog Tone, who escaped the Camp Fire on foot, rest in the parking lot of a Chico church on November 11.
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Hans Gutknecht/Digital First Media/LA Daily News/Getty Images
Culver City firefighters watch the Woolsey Fire from a burned home in Los Angeles.
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The remains of a Los Angeles home destroyed by the Woolsey Fire are seen on November 11.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
The sun rises over the Pacific Ocean on November 11 as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu.
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Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
Firefighters battle a blaze in Malibu on Saturday, November 10.
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Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
A woman runs in Calabasas as firefighters work to control a flare-up from the Woolsey Fire on November 10.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Camp Fire burns November 10 in the hills near Big Bend.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Sheriff's deputies carry a body bag with a Camp Fire victim on November 10.
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Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Scorched hillsides and damaged power lines are seen on November 10 along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
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John Locher/AP
Araya Cipollini cries November 10 near the remains of her family's home in Paradise.
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Los Angeles County firefighters work in Malibu Creek State Park on November 10.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
A deer looks on from a burned residence in Paradise on November 10.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
A fire truck is seen on the Pacific Coast Highway as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 10.
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Noah Berger/AP
Eric England searches through a friend's vehicle in Paradise on November 10.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Sheriff's deputies walk November 10 through a neighborhood destroyed by the Camp Fire.
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Planet Labs Inc.
A satellite image from November 10 shows vegetation that was burned as a result of the Woolsey Fire.
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Firefighters meet in Paradise on November 10.
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Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Roger Bloxberg and his wife, Anne, hug on Friday, November 9, as they watch a wildfire on a Los Angeles hilltop.
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Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen, who is also a firefighter, surveys a house engulfed in flames on Friday, November 9.
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David McNew/Getty Images
A massive smoke plume, powered by strong winds, rises above the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on November 9.
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John Locher/AP
Cathy Fallon stands near the charred remains of her Paradise home on November 9. The Camp Fire has wiped out much of the town north of Sacramento.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
A firefighter sprays down palm trees as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 9.
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Llamas are tied to a lifeguard stand on a Malibu beach on November 9.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP
Smoke is seen over the Pacific in this photo taken from a helicopter over Malibu on November 9.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
A woman in Malibu reacts to devastation on November 9.
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Joel Angel Juarez/Newscom
A row of palm trees stands as the Woolsey Fire continues to burn in Malibu on November 9.
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
From left, firefighters Cory Darrigo, Omar Velasquez and Sam Quan rest in a Westlake Village backyard after battling the Woolsey Fire all night.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
Gabi and Jonah Frank walk on the Pacific Coast Highway as the Woolsey Fire threatens their Malibu home on November 9.
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From NASA
A satellite image taken by NASA's Operational Land Imager shows the Camp Fire in Northern California.
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Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
A firefighter keeps watch as the Woolsey Fire burns a home near Malibu Lake on November 9.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
The Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 9. The community is known for celebrity beachside homes.
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Erick Madrid/Zuma Press
Doug Thomas and his dog Hanna rest November 9 while they await word if they can return to their Malibu Lake home.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Cars destroyed by the Camp Fire sit in a used-car lot in Paradise on November 9.
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Eric Thayer/Reuters
Firefighters battle flames in Thousand Oaks early on November 9.
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Richard Vogel/AP
Evacuees rest on cots supplied by the Red Cross at a Los Angeles high-school gym on November 9.
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Noah Berger/AP
Fire Capt. Steve Millosovich, battling the Camp Fire in Big Bend, carries a cage of cats that fell from an evacuee's pickup.
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Julie Ellerton
Smoke billows above Malibu trees in this photo posted to Instagram by Julie Ellerton.
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Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Firefighters push a vehicle from a garage as the Woolsey Fire burns a home in Malibu on November 9.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Patients are evacuated from Paradise's Feather River Hospital as it burns on Thursday, November 8.
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Karl Mondon/Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images
Juanita and Wayne McLish sit on a curb November 8 after losing their house to the Camp Fire in Paradise.
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Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images
The Hill Fire burns in Thousand Oaks on November 8.
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Jason Bauer
The Woolsey Fire burns in Ventura County, where Jason Bauer told CNN his parents had just been evacuated from their home.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
People embrace in the parking lot of a Paradise hospital as the Camp Fire engulfed it on November 8.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
The Paradise Inn burns on November 8.
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Stephen Lam/REUTERS
A firefighter works to extinguish a spot fire at a home in Paradise.
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Josh Edelson/Getty Images
Vehicles and homes burn as the Camp Fire rips through Paradise on November 8.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Dogs roam a burned-out neighborhood in Paradise.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Hospital staff and first responders evacuate the Feather River Hospital in Paradise on November 8.
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Neal Waters/ZUMA Wire
A fire emergency crew works to protect the Paradise Town Hall from the encroaching Camp Fire on November 8.
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Noah Berger/AP
A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise.
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Noah Berger/AP
A vintage car rests among debris in Paradise.
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Noah Berger/AP
Medical personnel move patients as the Feather River Hospital is evacuated in Paradise on November 8.
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Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke fills the sky over Paradise on November 8. Paradise, located about 85 miles north of Sacramento, has 26,000 residents.
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Noah Berger/AP
The remains of a building are seen after being consumed by the Camp Fire.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A firefighter monitors a burning home on November 8.
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Peter DeSilva/EPA/Shutterstock
California Highway Patrol officers attempt to transfer a potbelly pig they rescued in Butte County on November 8.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A Paradise home is engulfed in flames on November 8.
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Stephen Lam/Reuters
Firefighters monitor a back fire while attempting to save homes in Paradise on November 8.
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Noah Berger/AP
Flames burn inside a van as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise on November 8.
“Resources will continue to mop up and patrol. Fire suppression repair teams are actively engaged working around the fire perimeter and affected areas,” the agency said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Cal Fire reported some improvement in smoke levels regionally Saturday, but the air was still in the very unhealthy range.
CNN’s Sara Weisfeldt, AnneClaire Stapleton, Dakin Andone, Faith Karimi, Joe Sutton, Nick Valencia, Amanda Watts and Dan Simon contributed to this report.