Sheriff’s office changes the number of those killed in Camp Fire
In this Nov. 13, 2018, file photo, search and rescue workers search for human remains at a trailer park burned out from the Camp fire in Paradise, Calif. About three weeks after a fire leveled a Northern California town, confusion remains and officials continue trying to determine who of the those still listed as unaccounted for are really missing, which is not easy. Some families meet frustration in their search while others who escaped the inferno are surprised to find themselves listed as missing. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
PARADISE, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California sheriff’s office dropped the death toll from a devastating 2018 wildfire to 85 people.
The Butte County sheriff’s office said Thursday that remains from the Camp Fire thought to be from two separate people were from the same individual.
The office also released the names of two more victims, bringing the total number of identified dead to 71.
They are 69-year-old Chris Maltby and 75-year-old Ronald Schenk, both of Paradise.
The office also dropped the number of people unaccounted for from three to two. John Demianew had an active warrant out for his arrest and was found by Sacramento police.
The wildfire wiped out more than 14,000 homes, most of them in the town of Paradise.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
