PARADISE – The latest statistics are sobering and testify to the terrifying scope of the Camp Fire.

An additional eight human remains have been recovered, bringing the death toll to 71, fire officials said. And, the number of people who cannot be located is now 1,011, officials said.

“This is a dynamic list — it will fluctuate every day,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, cautioning that the number reflects raw data and may include duplicate names.

The fire has destroyed a total of 12,263 buildings, including 9,700 single family homes and 336 commercial structures.

Another issue far from the disaster scene is the worsening air quality.

Smothered in a thick, sooty blanket of toxic smoke, San Francisco's air quality index jumped to a jaw-dropping 271 Friday afternoon.

The hourly reading fell with within the "very unhealthy" range, meaning outdoor activity should be limited.

"These are the highest levels we've had in the Bay Area ever since I've been here," says Richard Muller, a physics professor at UC Berkeley who co-founded the Berkeley Earth site tracking air quality around the world.

Southern California is also facing multiple fires, although one of the most serious blazes, the Hill Fire northwest of Los Angeles, was completely contained by Friday morning, according to Cal Fire. The fire had consumed 4,531 acres and killed three people.

The Woolsey Fire, which is burning 98,362 acres northwest of Los Angeles, was 69% contained as of Friday.

Since the fire broke out on November 8th, the Camp Fire has become the state’s most destructive blaze in at least a century. About 5,596 personnel are currently battling the blaze and searching for the dead.

“This is an unprecedented event,” Honea told reporters earlier this week. “My sincere hope is that I don’t have to come here each night and report a higher and higher number. I’m going to do everything in my power to get through this as quickly as possible because I owe it to the family members of these victims.”

Police officers have also been carefully monitoring the evacuation zone in order to protect community members’ belongings after the fire. Six people were arrested earlier this week for suspected looting, Sheriff Honea said.

About 50,000 people were displaced earlier this week due to the Camp Fire, according a spokesperson for the Red Cross.

The entire city of Malibu was ordered to evacuate ahead of the Woolsey Fire. It is home to about 13,000 people, among them some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. According to the Associated Press, Southern California state officials put the total number of people forced from their homes by all active wildfires at about 250,000.

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for California, a move which comes just two days after he drew ire for tweeting about the wildfires without mentioning the victims. Instead, he criticized forest management and threatened to withhold federal payments to California.

Fires are burning in multiple national forests, including the Sierra Nevada National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Lassen National Forest and Plumas National Forest.

No official cause has been determined for either wildfire.

Story Date: November 17, 2018