OAKLAND, Calif. �� The death toll from the fire that raced through an Oakland warehouse during a music concert rose to 24 as searchers continued to sift through the ruin of one of the deadliest fires in modern California history.
It could take two days for the search for victims to end, frustrating frantic family and friends awaiting word about the fate of their loved ones. Officials said about 80 percent of the building had to be searched.
At a morning news conference, Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Ray Kelly said the death toll rose from 9 Saturday night to 24. He said the number is likely rise as the search continued.
Searchers painstakingly sifted through the rubble of the building through the night. They described it as a horrific scene of destruction, with many concertgoers unable to flee the building when the fire broke out.
Authorities said three of the victims have been identified. Their families have been notified.
The rising death toll makes the Oakland fire the worst in recent California history. It could eclipse the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, which killed 25 people.
The fire's cause is not known.
City records cited allegations of at least three code violations at the building this year. In one complaint, city inspectors said there was complaint of an illegal building on the property and piles of trash.
"This property is a storage (facility), but the owner turned it into a trash recycling center. The yard became a trash collection site, and the main building was (remodeled) for residential," according to city records.
City building and safety officials said Saturday that there was an open investigation into the warehouse and that inspectors had found evidence of blight. The building was permitted for use as a warehouse, not for housing.
They said that a party or concert at the property would have required a permit, which had not been granted. They also said there was no evidence that the building had fire sprinklers or alarms.
The property is one of several owned by Chor N. Ng, according to her daughter, Eva Ng, 36. She said the warehouse was leased as studio space for an art collective and not used as a dwelling.
