Jerry McLean folds the flag that was flying outside the remains of his home Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. Some residents of a California town devastated by a catastrophic wildfire nearly a month ago were finally allowed to return home to sift through the charred remains in search of precious family heirlooms, photos and other possessions. (AP Photo/Don Thompson)
PARADISE, Calif. – The Latest on some residents being allowed to return to Paradise, California, after the devastating wildfire. (all times local):
4:40 p.m.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says it hopes to restore electrical service in fire-ravaged areas of Northern California to all customers who can receive it by the end of the month.
PG&E official Dennis MacAleese said power will be restored on a rolling basis until that time, so some customers will get electricity before then.
Addressing a news conference Wednesday, MacAleese said the utility hopes to restore gas to the area by the first quarter of next year.
The Nov. 8 blaze killed at least 85 people and destroyed about 14,000 homes, wiping out services across the area.
Ed Fortner of the Paradise Irrigation District said that water services were currently only available to the police, fire department, Town Hall and the hospital.
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This item corrects the spelling of the PG&E spokesman's name, Dennis MacAleese.
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4:15 p.m.
A Northern California sheriff says there are only 10 names remaining on the list of people unaccounted for after a deadly wildfire.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea says no new human remains have been found so the death toll stands at 85.
The Camp Fire swept through the area about 140 miles northeast of San Francisco on Nov. 8. About 14,000 homes were destroyed in Paradise and surrounding cities.
Some residents were allowed to return to parts of Paradise for the first time Wednesday.
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3:40 p.m.
Rebecca Rogers accompanied a friend and Paradise resident home to sift through what was left and found what she believes were the remains of her friend's cat, Marble.
Rogers, who lives in nearby Chico, was in tears as she collected the cat's remains and said she would bury the cat for her friend, Jennifer Christensen, in the front yard.
She didn't want Christensen to see it, feeling it would be too much for her after all she had been through.
She said that Oreo, a black and white kitten, was still missing.
Christensen and her 2-year-old son, Avery, moved to Paradise about a year ago and lived with a couple who were like grandparents to her boy, she said.
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11:25 a.m.
A long line of cars has formed as some residents of a Northern California town are allowed to return to see what they can salvage from the devastation left by a catastrophic wildfire.
Joyce McLean says she has seen photos on social media of her destroyed home in Paradise and knows one of the only things that survived was an American flag flying on a pole.
She is hoping she can salvage family heirlooms and mementos from her only son's childhood.
The 73-year-old McLean says returning on Wednesday after her harrowing escape during the fire is making her nervous and emotional, but she wants to make sure she at least recovers the flag.
Some residents are being allowed to return nearly a month after the blaze swept through the area, killing at least 85 people and destroying about 14,000 homes.
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7:40 a.m.
Some residents of a Northern California town devastated by a deadly wildfire are being allowed to return home, nearly a month after the blaze swept through the town.
The Butte County Sheriff's Office says evacuation orders will be lifted Wednesday for some neighborhoods in Paradise, where a fire destroyed about 14,000 homes and killed at least 85 people.
There will be limited access to residents on Wednesday, but the same neighborhoods will be opened to anyone on Thursday.
The sheriff's office did not provide guidance for when all town residents will be allowed back to their homes.
More than 50,000 people in the town and two neighboring communities were forced to flee the Nov. 8 fire.
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This item corrects that the sheriff's office has not given guidance for when all Paradise residents will be allowed to return home, not that they will be allowed to return on Thursday.
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