"As much as I wish that we could get through all of this before the rains come, I don't know if that's possible."
Honea said it was within the "realm of possibility" that officials would never know the exact death toll from the blaze.
Hundreds of search and recovery personnel from around the state are working to find remains, going to homes when they receive tips that someone might have died there.
But they are also doing a more comprehensive, "door-to-door" and "car-to-car" search of areas, said Joe Moses, a commander with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, who is helping oversee the search and rescue effort.
The search area is huge, Moses said, with many structures that need to be checked.
The fire also burned many places to the ground, creating a landscape unique to many search-and-rescue personnel, he said.
"Here we're looking for very small parts and pieces, and so we have to be very diligent and systematic in how we do your searches," he said.
The remains of five more people were found yesterday, including four in Paradise and one in nearby Concow, bringing the number of dead to 76.
Among them was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son Jed tearfully told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother had an "endless amount of love" for him.
US President Donald Trump toured the area yesterday, joined by California's outgoing and incoming governors, both Democrats who have traded sharp barbs with the Republican Administration.
The President also visited Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.
"We've never seen anything like this in California, we've never seen anything like this yet. It's like total devastation," Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of Paradise and pledged the full support of the federal Government.
Soon after the fire began, Trump blamed state officials for poor forest management and threatened to cut off federal funding.
"He's got our back," outgoing Governor Jerry Brown said today on CBS' Face the Nation.
"There have been some back and forth between California leaders and the President," Brown said. "But in the face of tragedy, people tend to rise above some of their lesser propensities. So I think we're on a good path."
He also suggested California's severe wildfires will make believers of even the most ardent climate change sceptics "in less than five years," and that those living near forests might need to build underground shelters to protect them from fires.
Rain was forecast for midweek in the Paradise area. The National Weather Service said the area could get 30 km/h sustained winds and 65 km/h gusts, which could make it hard for crews to keep making progress against the blaze.
Northern California's Camp Fire has destroyed nearly 10,000 homes and torched 600 sq km. It was 55 per cent contained.
Honea expressed hope that Trump's visit would help with recovery, saying the tour by the Republican president and California's Democratic leaders "signals a spirit of cooperation here that ultimately benefit this community and get us on a path toward recovery".
- AP
