Death toll grows to 12 for West Zone wildfire around Berry Creek, Butte County

The number of dead in the West Zone fire that largely destroyed the Butte County community of Berry Creek Tuesday grew to 12 on Saturday as the size and containment of the fire grew incrementally.

Two of the victims have been positively identified — a 16-year-old and a 77-year-old — and another 13 people remain missing.

On Saturday, three more bodies found in the ruins, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. Honea did not provide more information on the victims.

Honea asked for Urban Search and Rescue Teams to come in to search for remains on Friday.

“Right now, the areas that we need to search are too hot and Cal Fire has asked us to wait to deploy those later…,” the sheriff said at the time.

Officials had said Thursday that 10 people had been confirmed dead, but reduced that to nine after determining that what appeared to be skeletal remains in a storage shed was actually an anatomical model used for study in anthropology.

“I can tell you that in the burned condition that it was it very, very much looked like human remains,” the sheriff said Friday.

Honea confirmed one victim of the fire was a 16-year-old high school student overtaken by flames before he could escape.

Authorities have told the family of Josiah Williams that he was killed in the blaze, his aunt, Bobbie Zedaker, said.

“He was supposed to leave when his brother did, but he didn’t,” Zedaker said. “I have no idea why.”

Zedaker said authorities had asked Williams’ brother for DNA to establish the identity of a victim found in Berry Creek, one of 10 known victims from the blaze so far.

Honea confirmed that Williams was identified as one of the fatalities.

“It was believed that Josiah was leaving the area in his own vehicle, but it appears he did not make it out,” Honea said.

Zedaker said Williams’ mother, Jessica Williams, was flying out to California from Indiana Friday morning and described her nephew as “a very smart kid.”

“He was adventurous, he was very outgoing, he was very kind,” she said.

Family members had posted pleas for help in finding him on social media, writing that he had last been seen at the family home on Bean Creek Road.

Zedaker said her own home on Hidden Springs Road was destroyed in the fire, and that she barely had time to leave Tuesday when authorities warned residents they needed to flee immediately.

“We had like 20 minutes after they sent out the alerts,” she said, adding that she lost essentially all of her belongings.

A second fatality was Millicent Catarancuic, 77, who was found near a vehicle along with two other victims who have yet to be named.

Catarancuic’s nephew, Zygy Roe-Zurz, told the Associated Press she loved animals and had four dogs and several cats at her 5-acre property.

Zurz said Catarancuic was “sharp as a whip” and loved to play FreeCell, saying she could win the game in about 80 seconds.

Zurz said his mother, Suzan Violet Zurz, and his uncle, Phil Rubel, also lived at the property and are missing.

Holly Catarancuic, Millicent Catarancuic’s daughter, told the AP her mom had lived in Berry Creek for about eight years. She said her mom had been very happy and the property was a “safe haven” for the family.

Only a handful of structures in the town in the hills above Lake Oroville survived the fire, which was originally named the Bear Fire but now is being called the West Zone of the North Complex Fire.

As damage surveys continue, Cal Fire officials said 132 homes have been destroyed and 13 homes have been damaged; 36 commercial structures have been destroyed; 59 outbuildings have been destroyed and 10 have been damaged.

On Saturday afternoon, Cal Fire officials said the West Zone was 73,000 acres and 10% contained — the overall North Complex has burned 252,313 and was 21% contained.

Homes, businesses, churches and a camp for children with cancer burned to the ground throughout the town, and wrecked and burned vehicles could be seen on various roadways, apparent evidence of residents trying to flee.

At one spot near where the California Highway Patrol said two victims had been found, on Graystone Lane near Bald Rock Road, two burned vehicles sat immobile with a red X painted on the doors.

One was a small pickup and had the remnants of a burned out guitar case and melted CDs in the bed.

The other was a four-door hatchback, with a large dog crate in the rear with the bodies of two small dogs that had been burned. Another, larger dog was also in the hatch area and appeared to have been burned in the fire.

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 6:51 PM.