Valley Fire: Remains of Cobb man found

The California Office Of Emergency Services released this fly over footage of the burn area from the Valley Fire. However, Associated Press (AP) reported that Sheriff Brian Martin told journalists on Tuesday that his office had received reports of 15 people missing since the fire started.

Lake County sheriff’s officials said they discovered the remains in the hard-hit Cobb area and believe they belong to Robert Taylor Fletcher, 66, who was last seen September 16.

On Monday, California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) said the Valley and Butte fires had become, respectively, the third and seventh most destructive ever in the state.

A pair of deadly wildfires in California have destroyed at least 1,700 homes and killed five residents, ranking among the most destructive fires in state history.

But schools in the Middletown Unified School District were closed for a second week, and one in the community of Cobb won’t reopen for months due to fire damage.

The assistance to people in Lake County affected by the so-called Valley Fire can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and low-priced loans to cover uninsured property losses, the White House said in a statement. Three other people were found dead in the rubble of that blaze last week.

The two fires continue burning, but recent cooler weather and some rain have helped firefighters gain ground. Containment stayed at 75 percent as the remaining 3,860 firefighters continued to mop up and secure more of the fire’s perimeter.

Searchers have found yet another body in the aftermath of a wildfire that has burned more than 118 sqaure miles and destroyed almost 2,000 buildings in California, according to officials.

One of those fires, which killed at least three people, was 53 per cent contained.

A total of six people have died in the Valley and Butte wildfires that burned in Lake County and Calaveras and Amador counties.