Cool weather helped fire crews gain ground Thursday against the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century, as the search went on for more bodies. At least 63 people were killed and 631 were unaccounted for a week after the flames swept through. Melissa Colorado reports.
An army of Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) workers were on the grounds of Butte County Friday helping the thousands of displaced Camp Fire victims.
Officials have yet to say when evacuees will be allowed back into their homes, if they’re lucky enough to still have homes.
With rain in the forecasted for next week there is pressure on FEMA and state officials to come up with a housing plan for thousands of displaced families.
A Sears department store in Chico now serves as a one-stop-shop for fire victims who need information on the kind of federal and state assistance they can receive.
The center opened at 9 a.m. on Friday and since then, it has been packed with people asking for help.
Paradise resident Cynthia “Sunshine” Johnson was the first in line outside the newly opened FEMA Disaster Recovery Center. She said the shock of losing her trailer home in Paradise is starting to wear off.
"Got my ID card, got my FEMA done, tomorrow I’ll come back and do social security" said Johnson.
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Inside the recovery center, many questions were asked as FEMA workers kept a log of all the displaced.
"We want it to be as convenient as possible for the survivors" said FEMA employee, Brad Pierce.
An agency representative said they brought in 60 FEMA employees from around the country to help run the center.
FEMA said the center will be open every day – indefinitely.
