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The multiple wildfires spreading across Northern California have taken the lives of 31 people and destroyed more than 3,500 structures. Hundreds are missing.

In Sonoma County, authorities reported 15 deaths as of Thursday. Rob Giordano, the sheriff in the area said they found some bodies almost completely intact. The other bodies were “nothing more than ashes and bones.”

Sheriff Giordano said identifying some of the victims will be extremely difficult. The identification process will take months. In one case, they were able to identify a person who was burnt into ashes through a hip replacement with ID

Majority of the victims are elderly

According to him, most of those who died were elderly--the youngest in the list is 57 years. They found their remains inside their homes. “The bulk of them are in their 70s and 80s,” said Sheriff Giordano.

As of Thursday morning, Sheriff Giordano said around 400 people are still missing in Sonoma County.  Since the wildfire broke out on October 9, authorities received approximately 1,000 reports of missing persons. The county’s sheriff’s office confirmed that they found around 600 people and are safe.

During a press briefing, Mark Ghilarducci, the director of California Office of Emergency Services (OES) said federal agencies, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington are providing resources. California also requested assistance from Arizona, Idaho, Montana, North and South Carolina, New Mexico, and even Australia.

According to CAL FIRE, over 8,000 firefighters are working round-the-clock to put off 21 wildfires that burnt over 191,000 acres. They are still facing great challenges due to gusty winds and low humidity, which might increase the risk of igniting new fires.

High priority areas 

On Thursday, CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott said, “Right now, we are looking at fire weather warnings…through the weekend.” Because of the weather conditions, he expects the fires to continue to burn erratically and will likely shift in any direction at any time.

Additionally, Pimlott said, “Our focus is certainly on the ground… trying to contain all the fires. Our number one priority is always gonna be life safety,” said Pimlott.

Furthermore, he said they are monitoring high priority areas particularly Calistoga, Sonoma, Middletown, and Geyserville.

In a press conference, Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning, they are urging resident to evacuate even if there us no fire activity within the city limits.

According to him, "Your presence in Calistoga is not welcome if you are not a first responder." He added that there very few people who decided to stay, which he considered a "distraction to our first responders."