Official reports say a total of 228 people are still missing as a result of the horrific wildfires. Butte County Sheriff Cory Honea announced the figure on Sunday night, raising the number of people missing by more than 100. The official death toll had reached 29 at the time of writing after the deadly fire ravaged a swathe of Northern California.
The revised death toll means the disaster has matched the deadliest wildfire on record in Californian history.
Sheriff Honea said the human remains recovered on Sunday included five bodies found in properties and one in a vehicle in Paradise.
He also announced that 228 people remain unaccounted for since the fire began Thursday and subsequently incinerated the foothill town.
US President Donald Trump has controversially tweeted about the fires.
He said: “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor.
“Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests.
“Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”
He doubled down on Sunday in another tweet, again blaming forest management.
“With proper forest management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get smart,” Trump tweeted.
But the President’s unguarded words have been attacked by prominent members of the firefighting community, with Harold Schaitberger weighing in on the debate.
The president of the International Association of Fire Fighters said: “His comments are reckless and insulting to the firefighters and people being affected.”
The president of the California Professional Firefighters, Brian K Rice, said the message is an attack on some of the people fighting the devastating fires.
He said: “The President’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.
“In my view, this shameful attack on California is an attack on all our courageous men and women on the front lines.”