Some Oakland warehouse victims able to text loved ones goodbye

SAN FRANCISCO (WTXF/AP) - Some people killed in the Oakland warehouse inferno over the weekend were able to text loved ones goodbye and "I love you" before they died, officials said.

Tuesday, the death toll stands at 36 with no change in the number of bodies recovered.

Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Tya Modeste says 36 bodies have been recovered and 26 of their families have been notified. Modeste says another nine bodies have been "tentatively identified." Officials are still lacking any type of identity for one individual.

Fire crews have resumed search and recovery operations.

Oakland Fire Batallion Chief Robert Lipp says crews have cleared 85 percent of the "Ghost Ship" building with one corner still inaccessible because it is unstable. Crews hope to stabilize it Tuesday and continue their search.

The fire broke out during a dance party at an artists' colony Friday night.

Also, the painful and exhaustive search for those killed in the fire appeared to be coming to a close. Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern told The Associated Press he didn't believe there would be additional bodies found.

But he cautioned it was "impossible to be absolutely positive" about the number killed until the entire recovery effort is complete. Authorities had gone through about three-quarters of the building by Monday afternoon.

Officials said they would turn next to investigating the fire. It's unclear how it started. The district attorney warned of possible murder charges as she determines whether there were any crimes linked to the blaze.

"We owe it to the community and those who perished in this fire, and those who survived the fire to be methodical, to be thorough, and to take the amount of time it takes to be able to look at every piece of potential evidence," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said.

Meanwhile, the founder of the colony says he is sorry, but deflected blame for the blaze that gutted the warehouse that he now describes as a "mass grave."

Derick Ion Almena, who leased and operated the warehouse full of artists where the fire erupted, told the "Today Show" Tuesday he was `Incredibly sorry." He said the only reason he was there Tuesday was to put his face and his body in front of the scene.

Almena said he started the community in the warehouse as a dream for the arts and performing arts, but, he said, sometimes "your dream is bigger than your pocketbook."

Almena says he signed a lease for the building that "was to city standards supposedly."

Almena says he lived in the warehouse with his family and other residents, but said he didn't make a profit. He said, "This is not profit; this is loss. This is a mass grave."