OAKLAND, Calif. _ Fire and recovery crews have completed about 85 percent of their search through rubble left from the devastating Fruitvale District warehouse fire and were waiting Tuesday morning to stabilize a front corner of the building before proceeding.
The death toll from the state's deadliest structure fire since 1906 remained at 36, and authorities said that they don't expect it to rise much more, if at all. Authorities have identified 26 of the victims and tentatively identified nine of them. One victim remains unidentified.
Officials did not release any additional names during a 6 a.m. press conference on Tuesday.
"We're hoping we don't find any more bodies," Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Robert Lipp said.
The front left corner of the building remains unstable, and crews were bringing in tools to reinforce it, to allow workers to comb through an area that still hasn't been searched. Lipp said they don't expect to find bodies in that area.
Authorities have not put a timeline on when they expect the search to be finished.
Fire investigators said Tuesday they have zeroed in on "point of interest" in the cause of the fire but were not releasing details early Tuesday.
