Death toll climbs to 36 in Oakland warehouse fire

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The death toll in the Oakland warehouse fire climbed to 36 today with more bodies still feared buried in the blackened ruins, and families anxiously awaited word of their missing loved ones.

The laborious job of digging with shovels and buckets was suspended overnight because of a dangerously unstable wall but resumed mid-morning. Officials said 70 percent of the building had been searched.

Flames tore through the building, known as the "Ghost Ship," during a dance party Friday night. The cluttered warehouse had been converted to artists' studios and illegal living spaces, and former denizens said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture, snaking electrical cords and only two exits.

It was the most lethal building fire in the U.S. in more than a decade.

Authorities have identified at least 11 of the bodies but withheld some of the names. Those whose identities were yet to be released included a 17-year-old and the son of a sheriff's deputy, authorities said.

Alameda County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said officials expect the death toll to rise, but he wouldn't speculate how high it might go.

Investigators said they believe they have located the section of the building where the fire started, but the cause remains unknown.