California

Camp Fire Survivors Say Warnings Were Too Little, Too Late

Some residents say they wonder why notice was not given sooner prior to the fire, which has killed at least 48 people

Survivors of California's deadliest wildfire say belated warning from public officials and a reluctance of residents who had survived previous fires to leave home were among the factors that contributed to the delayed and chaotic evacuations, NBC News reported

Much attention has been focused on the search for dozens of people who are still missing, as well as the possibility that power equipment belonging to the electric utility PG&E may have sparked the deadly fire. But some residents wonder why notice was not given sooner prior to the so-called Camp fire, which has killed at least 48 people and destroyed an estimated 7,600 homes — both records for California. 

"They definitely didn't do enough," said Christina Taft, whose 67-year-old mother has been missing since the fire. "She didn't expect it to be that bad. She expected someone would be calling, or something, if it got bad. But they didn't."

The Butte County Sheriff's Office said it delivered notifications about the fire danger via email, phone and text message. But at a Tuesday news conference, Sheriff Kory L. Honea said the fire's unusually swift progress south and west made timely notification difficult. 

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