A burned neighborhood in Paradise with charred cars, melted tires and blackened buildings is seen from the air on November 15, 2018. Never did the residents of the town in Butte County in California think that a fire would swallow their community whole. (Photos: VCG)

The toll in the deadliest wildfires in recent California history climbed to 63 late Thursday, with more than 600 people still officially listed as missing. As investigators try to determine what started the devastating wildfires, tens of thousands of people across the state have been forced to flee their homes.

The number of acres burned, including Camp Fire in Northern California and the Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California, is already higher than the total burned in wildfires last year, ratings firm A.M. Best Co. wrote on Tuesday.

Camp Fire evacuees look through donated items at a parking lot in Chico, California, on Thursday.