Employees of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) mark gas lines in the aftermath of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, U.S., November 14, 2018.
The remains of victims charred beyond recognition in the California wildfires are being identified by a pioneering DNA analysis company that primarily works in war zones and crime scenes.
ANDE, the only Rapid DNA analysis company approved by the FBI for work on military, forensic, homeland security and intelligence projects, was hired by the Butte County Sheriff's office to identify remains of some of the 56 people killed in northern California's Camp Fire.
Coroner-led recovery teams, cadaver dogs and a National Guard contingent scouring debris from the deadliest fire in California's history turn over tissue and bone fragments to the ANDE team, which is able to generate DNA IDs in under two hours through Rapid DNA analysis.
Traditional techniques typically take weeks to generate a DNA ID.
"People have experienced so much loss and it's not over yet," said ANDE's chief communications officer, Annette Mattern. "To be able to at least help some families know what the situation is will hopefully help in some small way."
Authorities continued to search for victim’s remains as the most destructive wildfire in California history continued to blaze Wednesday with the death toll soaring to at least 56.The Camp Fire in northern California has burned more than 9,000 structures, threatening in excess of 15,500 others as thousands of firefighters struggle to contain the 216-square-mile (350-square-mile) inferno. It is just 35 percent contained as it roars northeast of San Francisco.At least 130 people remain missing, according to reports.The fire has already laid waste to the town of Paradise where Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Brock Long and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke toured the devastation earlier in the day.Zinke said the fire is the worst he has ever seen, adding “the level of devastation” is devastating to the community.“Now is really not the time to point fingers,” Zinke said. “There’s a lot of reasons why these catastrophic fires are happening, but certainly we’re very clever as Americans and we need to pull together and do everything within our power to make sure that these communities, like Whiskeytown, like Yosemite, like Paradise, don’t get devastated because it really is a devastating tragedy.”Zinke’s comments follow his boss' Twitter screed last weekend against what U.S. President Donald Trump called California’s forest mismanagement, claiming “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor.“Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” he threatened.Following backlash from firefighters, the president made a dramatic about-face saying in subsequent tweets that he spoke to California Gov. Jerry Brown “to let him know that we are with him, and the people of California, all the way!”Officials and local residents in Paradise are now seeking to determine whether it is worth rebuilding, faced with the daunting task of a near-complete rebuild of the town.The cause of the Camp Fire continues to be under investigation.
Death toll from California wildfire reaches 56
FIRST DISASTER FOR ANDE
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office called the Colorado-based company on Monday, and by Tuesday morning ANDE had set up a work site near Chico in Butte County, about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco. Chico, about 10 miles from Paradise, is the base for the search and firefighting operations.
The company, which has about 90 employees worldwide, designed its tools specifically to withstand war zone conditions and has worked extensively with the U.S. military. It has also helped law enforcement identify sexual assault suspects and with U.N. trafficking cases, Mattern said.
But the Paradise catastrophe was the first request ANDE had received to assist in a natural disaster since its founding in 2000.
In hopes of identifying DNA from remains as quickly as possible, ANDE has set up seven Rapid DNA analysis instruments near Chico and had six employees on site with more on the way on Wednesday, said the company's chief information officer, Stephen Meer, noting the level of work it expects compared to the company's usual projects.
"Certainly we are gearing up for higher capacity here," Meer said.
Once the ANDE team finds a match between remains and DNA provided by a family member, the coroner's office is alerted so it can make an official pronouncement of death.
Death certificates are required for families to settle matters as complicated as life insurance and estates and as basic as a car title, credit card or bank account. Without positive identification, families may have to wait years for a death certificate to be issued for a missing loved one, depending on state rules.
Extreme heat can often destroy DNA, causing traditional DNA analysis methods to fail. Rapid DNA analysis has proven to be more effective in identifying DNA from burned remains and bone fragments, which makes it an especially valuable tool in such tragedies.