CHICO, Calif. — Rain was hampering teams searching for remains of people in rubble left by the devastating fire that destroyed Paradise.
Richard Ventura of Orange County's FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team said Thursday the rainy, windy, cold conditions are making the search process "miserable."
His team has 27 people involved in the effort.
Ventura said the rain "clumps things together" while making the terrain soggy and harder for workers to see and move. He added that workers are soaking wet and trying to keep their socks dry to avoid hypothermia.
The Orange County team is one of eight FEMA response teams in California that assists with disaster recovery.
While rain was hampering rescue efforts, fire officials said it was helping the fight against the deadliest blaze in California in the past century.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire that leveled Paradise is 90 percent contained two weeks after it started. The blaze was 80 percent contained Wednesday before the first of three storm systems arrived in the area where at least 83 people died in the fire.
The first storm has moved on and another is expected later Thursday, raising concerns about mudslides and other problems.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said more than 800 people would search the rubble for human remains on Thanksgiving.
Thousands of people displaced by the blaze will spend the holiday with family in the area or with strangers who open their homes for dinners put together by nonprofit groups.