LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of people listed as missing in the wildfire in Northern California has jumped to over 1,000, authorities said on Friday evening.

What was already the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history now ranks as one of the most lethal wildfires in the US

Authorities attributed the high death toll from the so-called Camp Fire, which erupted last Thursday in the drought-parched Sierra foothills 175 miles north of San Francisco, in part to the staggering speed with which the wind-whipped flames raced with little warning through Paradise, a town of 27,000.

Incoming rain could help firefighters tackle deadly California fire
Nearly 12,000 homes and buildings, including most of the town, were incinerated hours after the blaze erupted, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has said. Three other people have died in a fire in southern California.

Thousands of additional structures were still threatened by the Camp Hill fire, and as many as 50,000 people were under evacuation orders at the height of the blaze. An army of firefighters, many from distant states, worked to contain and suppress the flames.