Massive Valley Fire blazes through California taking almost 900 homes

One person died and 10 homes burned in a fire that started Saturday in California’s Carmel Valley south of Monterey, fire officials said. While it was originally thought it could possibly be a homicide and detectives were called out, Thornburg said Sunday afternoon, “Right now, all indications point to a suicide”.

The teams have completed about 80 per cent of damage assessment, focusing largely on homes, Berlant said.

The total number of Northern California structures destroyed by wildfire in the past two weeks was more than 1,600.

“Usually when the forest burns, they go in there and it just doesn’t burn this hot and that fast”, he said.

There are five times as many trees per acre in this area today as there were 150 years ago, and the underbrush is twice as thick, according to Scott Stephens, a wildland resource scientist at the University of California at Berkeley. It burned 1,600 acres, destroyed 2,900 structures and killed 25 people.

And another two civilians were killed in the Butte fire, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but residents were being allowed to gradually return to their homes Sunday.

Most of the largest wildfires are between 47 percent and 68 percent contained, with three almost fully controlled, CalFire said.

The wedding ring was left behind; but on Sunday while sifting through the damage, Holliman found the ring, she said.

Aria Simpson and her mother, Teresa Fogolini of Bodega Bay, took it upon themselves to help save 18 camels stranded at Sacred Camel Gardens, a spiritual retreat near Middletown, by setting up an online donations site that has collected $15,000 to feed the animals.

The name of the person killed in the fire was not released Sunday afternoon, and no other details were available. “I kept walking around asking, ‘Where is my home?’ I don’t understand why it’s not here, this isn’t where I live”, she said Monday.

If there’s something positive to be said about the catastrophic fire that swept through lower Lake County it concerns the many homes, schools and businesses that were spared the devastating touch of this historic inferno.

As of 4:00pm Monday, the evacuation orders have been lifted for all outside the fire perimeter (see picture). A 66-year-old man was unable to comply with the evacuation orders perished as well and another elderly individual who was already dead was discovered by search and rescue dogs.

Heat was descending again on the two deadly and destructive Northern California wildfires after a few days of fair and favourable conditions, and it brought with it fears the blazes could come back to life and major gains could be undone.