Details of desperate text messages sent by some of the victims of a warehouse fire in California have been revealed by police.

Investigators spoke about the young victims' final moments as they confirmed the blaze did not appear to have been started intentionally - and may have been caused by a fridge or another electrical appliance.

Authorities have searched and cleared more than 96% of the charred building in Oakland and identified all but one of the 36 victims.

Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern told reporters that one mother had shared a text she had received from her daughter as the tragedy unfolded last Friday night.

"Mom, I'm dying," the message said.


Mr Ahern said another two victims appeared to be hugging when found by firefighters.

Sergeant Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, said deputies had spoken at length with families of the victims about their loved ones' harrowing final moments.

Many still missing after California rave fire

He told local media: "We've had a lot of conversations with family members, very intimate conversations about the last moments that they may have talked to their child or their loved one and those are things that will probably (stay) with us for the rest of our lives.

"Kids were texting their parents and telling them that they loved them and that they were going to die."

The manager of the warehouse - which had been converted into an artist's collective and was hosting a rave - has apologised but said he was not to blame for the tragedy.

Derick Ion Almena told NBC he usually slept in the building - known as the Ghost Ship - with his three children but had checked into a hotel on the night of the party because he was "exhausted".

He said: "I'm only here to say one thing. I'm incredibly sorry."

Oakland city officials said they had received three complaints about safety conditions in the building before the blaze and would be releasing 30 years' worth of public records related to the warehouse.

Mr Almena said: "I signed a lease. I got a building that was to city standards, supposedly."

Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said a fridge was a potential source for the fire, but "anything electrical" on the first floor was being examined.

Local District Attorney Nancy O'Malley has launched an investigation to determine if anyone is criminally responsible. She said charges could range from murder to involuntary manslaughter.