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Officials say preliminary counts show "just over 700" structures destroyed; thousands threatened
Summary
Incident command and local officials described preliminary damage assessments showing "just over 700" structures destroyed, with thousands more properties threatened in planning boxes; officials said satellite and aerial imagery plus house-by-house ground checks are being used to validate losses.
Tom Clemo, incident commander for the California interagency incident management team on scene, said officials' "best estimates" so far put structural loss at "upwards of 700 structures" and later described the official working count as "just over 700." He added those figures are preliminary and that teams are using aerial flights, satellite imagery and boots-on-the-ground house-by-house mapping to confirm whether burned areas include structures or only vegetation.
"It's going to take a few days to get solid numbers," Clemo said, describing a process of afternoon aerial supervision, satellite overflights and in-person validation. He emphasized that priority remains life and property protection during the active firefight; damage assessment is secondary and will be completed as safety allows.
