Update: Dozens Missing After Oakland Fire Found Alive
Update (12/4/16 8:22 AM PST): It is confirmed by Alameda county officials that 24 people were found dead from the fire. Police and firefighters are still working to find others that may remain in the building.
Stay with CBS13 for more information.
OAKLAND (CBS13) -- Alameda county officials are reporting that several dozen missing people have been found alive. They are among the lucky ones who were able to escape Friday night's deadly warehouse fire in Oakland.
But Oakland police officials add that this is not a rescue mission. They know there are bodies inside, but they say it's unlikely that anyone trapped inside survived.
The recovery operations started back up again Saturday evening as crews move ahead with plans of working through the night. They had to stop work earlier in the day when the building walls began to move.
Sergeant Ray Kelly with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, "We have to continue to worry about the engineering problems, the structural integrity. That's more difficult at night."
Nine people are confirmed dead, however, officials expect that number to jump to as high as 40 victims during the recovery process, which is expected to last a few days.
"That has to move very slowly because when we are pulling debris, we want to make sure there are not victims trapped in that debris," said Kelly.
Friday night, the building caught on fire, causing the roof to collapse onto the second floor during a rave dance party. Because there was no power, people weren't able to see as they tried to escape.
The building only had two exits.
"We still have a couple of dozen outstanding people to be located," said Kelly.
Among the missing is Alex Vega. His brother,Daniel, spent much of Saturday at the Family Assistance Center set up in Oakland, hoping to get sone answers about his brother, who is still unaccounted for.
"I am hoping they tell that they found my brother," said Vega.
Meanwhile, crews say they can see more dead bodies inside, but they won't be able to pull them out until they can reach that part of the building.
"We don't even know how far into the recovery process we are because we don't have the number of people who are deceased inside there," explained Sgt. Kelly.
City officials expect the recovery efforts to last at least a few days.
City officials say the building is permitted only as a warehouse. Oakland city officials believe it was being used as an artist collective, with people using this place as a live-work space. That investigating has been on-going.
However, city officials also added that the warehouse was not permitted for the party and it was not permitted for people to live inside. It may not have also been up to fire code.
These are all questions that the city will look into to in the coming days.