*By Chloe Aiello* As of Friday afternoon, more than 600 people are still missing and almost 70 are dead as a result of ongoing fires that have ravaged parts of Northern and Southern California over the past week. The toll of missing individuals from the Camp Fire soared after the Butte County Sheriff Department adjusted the count to reflect those reported missing during the height of the blaze. In a conference with reporters late Thursday [recorded by NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/number-missing-doubles-northern-california-s-camp-fire-seven-more-n937006), Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said he suspects many on the list may have sought cover from the fire and don't even know they've been reported missing. He also said he expects the list to fluctuate as some are located and others are reported missing. The list includes many elderly individuals in their 80s and 90s. The Camp Fire has been deemed the most deadly and destructive fire in California's history. It's scorched 142,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures ーmany of them homesー and almost completely leveled the town of Paradise. It also accounts for a reported 66 of the 69 fire casualties reported, but those numbers are still shifting. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said it expects to have the Woolsey Fire fully contained by Monday and the Camp Fire contained by Nov. 30. President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to California on Saturday "to meet with individuals impacted by the wildfires." the White House said Thursday. The show of support signals a change in tone for the President, who over the weekend blamed the blaze on what he called "gross mismanagement of the forests," and threatened to revoke federal funding of certain departments. His comments sparked backlash from [Californians, fellow politicians, and advocates of climate science.]( https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-elect-rouda-trump-should-lead-on-climate-change-instead-of-throwing-tweet-tantrums). Meanwhile, the financial toll of the fire was also coming into focus. Shares of Pacific Gas and Electric Company ($PCG) recovered more than 37 percent on Friday after a report that signaled a possible bailout of the company, which is California's leading utility provider. Shares of the utility were thrashed this week over concerns its equipment would be found responsible for the igniting the Camp Fire. The utility revealed in a filing on Tuesday that it experienced an outage in Butte County, near the area where the fire is thought to have started ー and right around the same time. [In the filing,](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/75488/000114036118042983/form8k.htm ) the utility provider disclosed that "the Utility could be subject to significant liability in excess of insurance coverage" if its equipment is found to be at fault. The head of a California utility regulator, however, said the company should not be allowed to enter bankruptcy when it may be on the hook for billions in liabilities, Bloomberg [reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-16/pg-e-soars-after-regulator-eases-concern-on-bankruptcy-risk). “It’s not good policy to have utilities unable to finance the services and infrastructure the state of California needs,” California Public Utilities Commission's Michael Picker said. “They have to have stability and economic support to get the dollars they need right now.” Picker later told [The San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/California-regulator-lays-groundwork-for-PG-E-13397247.php) about a possible pathway to bailout which would rely on a relatively new state law to allow PG&E to pass along some costs to customers.

Share:
More In Culture
U.S. Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance; Building Incentives for Employee Retention
This episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Cheddar takes a deep dive into how offices in Silicon Valley are handling return-to-office policies with Jesse Levinson, Cofounder and CTO of Zoox; Bob Lockett, Chief Diversity & Talent Officer at ADP breaks down the importance of flexibility at work and how to approach compensation in order to improve retention; Pamela Rucker, CIO Advisor and Instructor for Harvard Professional Development, explains how A.I. can play a role in sustainability efforts and what business leaders need to know about ESG.
Jeremy Kim & Wootak Kim of ‘Under the Influence’ on Platforming Asian Americans
Jeremy Kim and Wootak Kim, content creators and the stars of the ‘Under the Influence’ podcast and YouTube series, joined Cheddar News to talk about using their platform to help other Asian American creators. "When we were kind of like coming up with the show idea, there's like so many other people that we really respect or look up to or that interesting stories that will never get the chance to be seen by anybody else," said Jeremy Kim. "And so that's the kind of the platform that we wanted to create."
Play Pits CEO on Creating Natural Hygiene Products for Kids
Chantel Powell, Co-Founder and CEO of Play Pits, joins Cheddar News to discuss how she's grown her business from making it in her very own home to being sold on the shelves in Target stores across the nation, and break down how her business remained resilient throughout the pandemic.
Jill Zarin and Ally Shapiro Talk New Crystal Manifestation Candles, 'Ultimate Girls Trip'
Coming off of their face masks endeavor, Jill Zarin of "The Real Housewives of New York City," and her daughter Ally Shapiro, CMO of JIll & Ally, join Cheddar News to discuss their latest product: crystal manifestation candles. "We have tigers eye, we have amethyst, we have lapis, and alone those could be almost the price of the candle," said Zarin. "We were really able to do it in an affordable way, and if you don't know how to manifest or what that even means, we do it for you on the candle." Zarin also dished on the new season of "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip."
Load More