DNA identificationRapid DNA technology ID’ed California wildfire victims

Published 24 April 2019

Amid the chaos and devastation of a mass casualty evet, medical examiners often provide closure as they identify victims in the aftermath, but their ability to do this quickly can vary depending on the size, scope, and type of disaster. Such challenges were the case following the Camp Fire wildfire that killed eighty-five people and devastated communities in Paradise, California, in the fall of 2018. S&T’s Rapid DNA technology became the first resort as it provided identifying information in under two hours when dental records and fingerprints weren’t available.

The hours and days following a mass casualty event can be fraught with uncertainty and pain as families and loved ones wait for news on missing family members. Amid the chaos and devastation, medical examiners often provide closure as they identify victims in the aftermath, but their ability to do this quickly can vary depending on the size, scope, and type of disaster.

Such challenges were the case following the Camp Fire wildfire that killed eighty-five people and devastated communities in Paradise, California, in the fall of 2018. DNA analysis became the first resort as it provided identifying information in under two hours when dental records and fingerprints weren’t available.

S&T says that with the help of Rapid DNA technology, medical examiners were able to provide quicker closure for many families as compared to the weeks or months it can take to produce results in a traditional forensic lab. Funded in part by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Rapid DNA technology, positively identified 85 percent of the victims in the aftermath of the disaster. Two victims remain unaccounted for as of 7 February 2019.

Lending a hand in a time of anguish and crisis
The Sherriff’s Office of Butte County, California, invited the ANDE Corporation, S&T’s commercial partner for the Rapid DNA technology, to help at the disaster site to analyze DNA samples. ANDE is one of the two companies that developed technology for quick DNA analysis at DHS S&T’s request. ANDE brought its machines to the disaster site to analyze and match samples from victims and relatives.

The Rapid DNA technology, which can simultaneously analyze five DNA samples in ninety minutes, helped identify victims in two stages.

First, it tested multiple samples of human remains to see which DNA samples were viable for identification. Chris Miles, DHS S&T Project Manager for Rapid DNA, and Dr. Amanda Sozer, a consultant for S&T, observed that ANDE and the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office were very well-coordinated for that effort. ANDE brought a recreational vehicle equipped with three Rapid DNA instruments, directly to the coroner’s office.