Catastrophic Northern California fire is finally contained

With the help of steady rain, firefighters have almost contained the devastating Camp Fire blaze that's killed 84 and destroyed thousands of homes in Northern California, but responders are still searching for hundreds of missing people and struggling to identify remains amid muddy ash and falling trees.

More than 5,000 firefighters from all western states as far as South Dakota and Texas had been struggling with the fire on the scene for about two weeks before rains that moved into Northern California last Wednesday doused the flames and helped them gain more control of the blaze.

But in a statement on Twitter on Sunday, California's fire department said they were now "100% contained".

Flames had surrounded the home he was visiting - and the only way out was to go through them.

The number of missing continued to drop in the past few days, from a high of more than 1,000, as officials confirmed more people were alive.

It dropped an estimated 80 millimetres of rain over the burn area during a three-day period without causing significant mudslides, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley of the National Weather Service.

A deadly wildfire is almost contained after several days of rain in Northern California, but searchers are still completing the meticulous task of combing through now-muddy ash and debris for signs of human remains.

Image Rescuers are searching for nearly 250 missing people

"The fear is that the rain will drop in intense bursts", meteorologist Brian Hurley said. Authorities also warn that danger still looms as rainfall after a fire places the area at a high risk for debris flow, flash flooding, and mudslides.

The fire killed at least 85 people, and 249 are on a list of those unaccounted for after burning for more than two weeks.

Task force leader Craig Covey, in blue jacket at center, says his team is doing a second search because there are outstanding reports of missing people whose last known address was at the mobile home park.

The city of Paradise was a popular destination for retirees, with people ages 65 or older accounting for a quarter of its 27 000 residents.

It was both the deadliest and most destructive fire in California's history.

Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters Irma Corona (R) comforts neighbor Gerryann Wulbern in front of the remains of Wulbern's home after the two returned for the first time since the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

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