Camp Fire missing persons call center closes after helping locate hundreds of survivors

The missing persons call center for those unaccounted for during the Camp Fire in Paradise and Butte County has been closed, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.

The decision was made Wednesday because the hotline has received few calls in recent weeks, according to a Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

Three people are still considered missing: Sara Fabila-Martinez, 50, John Demianew, 54, and Wendy Krug, 46, all of Paradise.

Call center volume was highest in November, with 100-200 calls received per day, sheriff’s spokeswoman Megan McMann said. By December, hotline traffic slowed to about 50 a day and by the end of the month, around eight or 10 calls were received daily.

Anyone looking to report a missing person in Paradise can still call police dispatch at 530-872-6241, the Sheriff’s Office said. For those who live in the unincorporated territory of Butte County, call the Sheriff’s Office dispatch at 530-538-7321.

Butte County officials have located 3,200 people initially reported missing, according to The Bee’s previous reporting. The Camp Fire was the deadliest fire in California’s history, with 86 deaths directly tied to it.

Most bodies have been identified, but four victims still have not been named, deputies said.

The fire began Nov. 8 and burned more than 153,000 acres before it was extinguished over a month later on Dec. 14, according to Cal Fire. Thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses were destroyed.

This story was originally published January 4, 2019 at 1:56 PM.