Chico, Calif. (ap)
Patty Rough said she and her husband Chuck would normally host their family at their home in Paradise.
But on Thursday, she instead gathered her son, daughter, future son-in-law and two grandchildren at California State University, Chico, where 15,000 meals were being served.
Rough teared up as she called the holiday “bittersweet.”
Eduardo Garcia also was enjoying a warm meal. The construction worker says he helped build the campus auditorium where the meals were provided.
The home he shared with a friend burned down and he said he’s trying to “give it a good face instead of being sad.”
Meanwhile, rain hampered teams searching for remains of people in rubble left by the devastating fire that destroyed Paradise and killed at least 83.
Richard Ventura of Orange County’s FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team said on Thursday the rainy, windy, cold conditions are making the search process “miserable.”
His team has 27 people involved in the effort. Ventura said the rain “clumps things together” while making the terrain soggy and harder for workers to see and move.
Ventura said the workers are soaking wet and trying to keep their socks dry to avoid hypothermia.
The Orange County team is one of eight FEMA response teams in California that assists with disaster recovery.
Earlier, fire officials said rain helped the fight against the deadliest blaze in California in the past century.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday the fire that leveled Paradise is 90 percent contained two weeks after it started.
The blaze was 80 percent contained on Wednesday before the first of three storm systems arrived in the area where 13,000 structures were destroyed.
The first storm has moved on and another was expected later Thursday, raising concerns about mudslides and other problems.