Camp Fire Thursday update: President Trump to visit victims of worst fire in state history

Nov. 15--One week after the Camp Fire started, the White House announced that President Donald Trump will visit California fire victims on Saturday. The president will be landing at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville.

Plans are still being made, the White House also said.

Firefighters continue to gain control of the blaze and better quantify the staggering toll. The number of deaths and structures burned climbs every day.

As of Thursday night, 63 people have died and 631 people are unaccounted for. Seven additional remains were located. Three were found in Magalia, three in Paradise and one in Concow. Fifty-three of the victims have been tentatively identified but confirmation by DNA on the burned bodies is needed.

The number of victims is updated each night after the difficult day of searching for remains in Paradise and Concow with workers and dogs trained to detect human remains.

Investigators also identified a possible second origin of the fire in the Concow area, officials announced at the Thursday night briefing.

No other information about what caused the fire was released.

Chris Alcantar of Concow plays with his dog in the evacuee camp near Walmart in Chico Thursday. (Carin Dorghalli -- Enterprise-Record)

The fire was reported at 141,000 acres with 40 percent containment. Cal Fire expects full containment in two weeks. There's an enormous perimeter partially surrounding the fire. Active fire is expanding the perimeter on the eastern side, including near one of the suspected ignition points near Camp Creek Road off Highway 70 in Pulga.

With 8,650 residences and 260 commercial buildings destroyed, the Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive in terms of structures burned in state history, by far.

Widespread evacuation orders are still in effect for more than 50,000 people in Paradise, Magalia, Butte Creek Canyon, Butte Valley, Concow and elsewhere.

Highway 32 to Highway 36 has reopened.

Evacuation orders have been reduced to warnings in the north Little Chico Creek area. The area north of Ten Mile House Road is open to Forest Ranch Road. Doe Mill Road south at Village Drive is closed. Santos Ranch Road, Wilder Drive and Autumn Lane will remain closed.

The evacuation order in the Humbug area has been lifted. Doe Mill Road is open east to Powellton Road.

In Forest Ranch, the evacuation warning has been lifted. Forest Ranch Road north to Highway 36 is open.

Evacuation centers are full in Oroville, Orland and at Neighborhood Church in Chico. Centers still accepting evacuees are at Bidwell Junior High School in Chico, Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley, Yuba-Sutter Fairground in Yuba City and Plumas County Fairgrounds in Quincy.

Officials said they don't expect the stagnant smokey air to go away, but improved air could be possible by Sunday.

Cal Fire says 5,473 people are fighting the fire. Federal Emergency Management Agency official arrived in Butte County on Wednesday to start the process of helping evacuees who have lost homes.

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