Camp Fire Death Toll: New Report Adds 50 Names

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The death toll from the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California may be higher than the 85 officially named by the Butte County Coroner's Office. That is according to a new report stating dozens more deaths should be attributed to the wildfire that ripped through Paradise and nearby communities.

The Camp Fire was already deemed the deadliest wildfire in California history but the Chico Enterprise Record said Tuesday it identified 50 more victims linked by medical doctors, attorneys and other experts to the Camp Fire:

"Fifteen months later, people are still dying from complications from the fire, including mental and emotional anguish and respiratory issues from the smoke, according to interviews with family and friends."

Many of the indirect deaths involved elderly, disabled or sick people who died as a result of complications suffered in the Camp Fire, the newspaper reported Tuesday, having contacted their loved ones who filed a wrongful death claim with Pacific Gas & Electric by the deadline of Dec. 31, 2019.

The list containing wrongful death and other claims related to the 2018 Butte County Camp Fire and the deadly 2017 wildfires in Napa, Sonoma and neighboring counties, has been made publicly available.