California wildfire death toll rises to SIX as experts say the ‘out of control’ and ‘unprecedented’ inferno which is raging over 125 square miles could INTENSIFY
Authorities said Sunday that a sixth victim of the wildfires has been found near Redding California, in an area that was covered by an evacuation warning
The victim was not identified, but authorities said the person did not evacuate as instructed
Authorities worry that forecast high winds on the horizon could fan the flames further
About 12,000 firefighters were said to be battling 17 significant fires Sunday in various parts of California
Wildfires around the state have forced roughly 50,000 people from their homes and destroyed 500 buildings
DAILYMAIL.COM
29 July 2018
The deadly Northern California wildfire that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and burned virtually unchecked since Thursday has claimed its sixth victim.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Sunday a body was found within the boundary of the Carr Fire near Redding, California, about 230 miles north of San Francisco.
He said the victim, who was not identified, had been in an area which had been covered by an evacuation warning, but had not evacuate as instructed.
Bosenko said the sheriff’s department has seven outstanding missing persons reports.
The fire had previously claimed the lives of two firefighters, as well as two children and their great-grandmother.
With the death toll climbing to six, authorities worried that another forecast for high winds could fan the flames even further.
‘Right now, it’s going everywhere. We still have a lot of open line,’ said Anthony Romero, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ‘Any event could bring this back up again.’
The National Weather Service predicted more hot and dry conditions, with wind gusts expected late in the afternoon.
Triple-digit temperatures and dry vegetation are making it difficult for crews to corral the blaze, which is said to be only five per cent contained.
Wildfires around the state have forced roughly 50,000 people from their homes, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.
About 12,000 firefighters were battling 17 significant fires Sunday in California, she said.
‘We are well ahead of the fire activity we saw last year,’ she said. ‘This is just July, so we’re not even into the worst part of fire season.’
However, late Sunday afternoon, fire officials said that crews have been able to stop some of the growth of the blaze, finally gaining ground as opposed to being strictly in a defensive posture.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Incident Commander Bret Gouvea said the fire was not moving nearly as fast as it did earlier and that he was optimistic and expected containment numbers to increase.
The Rest…HERE
