Another Victim of Camp Fire Dies, Bringing Death Toll to 86

A man who had been badly burned trying to escape last November's Camp Fire has died, raising the death toll in the blaze to 86.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday 72-year-old Paul Ernest of Paradise succumbed to his injuries, which included severe damage to his lungs.

"He had a hard time keeping his lungs functioning," Ernst's son, Jessee Ernest said. "He put up a really good fight."

Paul Ernest had been hospitalized since Nov. 8, when the fast-moving fire raced across the northern Sierra Nevada foothills from the Feather River into the communities of Paradise, Magalia and Concow. The blaze, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, destroying nearly 14,000 homes.

Jessee Ernest said that on the day of the fire, his father and mother, Suzie Ernest, tried to flee in their car but abandoned vehicles and fallen power lines blocked their path. They returned home and jumped on their all-terrain vehicles along with a neighbor to try and escape the inferno.

The road was impassable and soon they were flanked by flames and had to take shelter behind a boulder, Ernest said.

"My dad tried to cover my mom as much as he could but they said it was just a wall of fire torching over them," he said.

Once the fire subsided, their neighbor drove his all-terrain vehicle and returned with an emergency crew that helped the couple and transported them to a firetruck. A helicopter then flew them to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Like his father, his mother suffered third-degree burns on about 30% of her body, but she has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home in Chico, Jessee Ernest said.

Jessee Ernest said he and his sister and brother plan to set up a funeral service "as soon as my mom can get through it."

Cal Fire investigators determined earlier this year that a PG&E transmission line near the community of Pulga started the blaze. The company has acknowledged that its equipment was responsible for the disaster.

Separately, the Sheriff's Office announced that it has located one of two people listed as missing in the fire.

The office said Wendy Carroll, 47, or Oroville, told deputies she was aware she was considered missing but never contacted authorities to say she was safe because of possible legal issues.

The only person left unaccounted for from the 2018 Camp Fire is Sara Martinez-Fabila, although it's uncertain if she was in the area at the time of the fire.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the list of missing grew to more than 1,000 people.