Dwindling list of missing people brings relief to burn area

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The search for people unaccounted for after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in at least a century is winding down in Northern California, with 11 names left on a list that once approached 1,300 and prompted fears that hundreds had died in the flames.

The declining number released late Monday came as a relief in the Paradise area as it reels from the wildfire that killed at least 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

The Associated Press has been scouring the list and found duplicate names, misspellings and people who don’t appear to exist.

People who were previously identified as dead or alive by family or friends have at times reappeared on the list.

The AP located several people, including a couple that had decamped from fire zone area for a previously planned vacation in Hawaii.