Firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled California's raging wildfires for a seventh day on Wednesday as the authorities in the worst-hit county released a list of over 100 missing people.
Most of those unaccounted for are from the Butte County town of Paradise, which was virtually erased from the map by the so-called "Camp Fire" blaze.
Paradise, a town of around 26,000 in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, was popular with retirees and many of those reported missing by the sheriff's office are elderly -- in their 70s, 80s and 90s.
Virtually every home in Paradise, located 130 kilometers north of the state capital Sacramento, was destroyed by the fast-moving fire fueled by high winds.
At least 51 deaths have been reported so far from the deadliest wildfires in California's recent history and body recovery teams were going house-to-house with cadaver dogs in Paradise on Wednesday.
"We are in the midst of a catastrophe," Governor Jerry Brown told a press conference. "The fire was unprecedented, overwhelming, so a lot of people got caught."
"This is going to be a very long and frustrating event for the citizens of Paradise," Long said. "We're going to have to find a new normal." "You're not going to be able to rebuild Paradise the way it was."