Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said he believes there are people on the list who fled the blaze and don’t realize they were reported missing. He said authorities were making the list public so people could see if they’re on it, and let authorities know they are safe.
Honea announced the increased count at a news conference Thursday, after having said a day earlier that 130 people were unaccounted for.
He said the first figure was a partial count, and after authorities went back through all 911 calls and other reports of missing persons from the past week they came up with the new number.
The Nov. 8 fire killed 63 people, destroyed 9,700 homes and displaced 52,000 people in the town of Paradise and nearby towns.
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