“He was burned and found sitting in his auto”.
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California’s signature parks along the Big Sur coastline that draw thousands of daily visitors were closed Tuesday as one of the state’s two major wildfires threatened the scenic region at the height of the summer.
Meanwhile in Wyoming, a large backcountry wildfire in the Shoshone National Forest put about 290 homes and guest ranches at risk.
(AP Photo/Scott Sonner). Looking west from neighboring Sparks, smoke from a Central California wildfire burning more than 300 miles away obscures parts of downtown Reno, Nev., on Monday, July 25, 2016.
The Soberanes Fire has scorched almost 23,500 acres (9,510 hectares) at the edge of the Los Padres National Forest since it broke out on Friday and some 2,300 firefighters had the blaze about 10 percent contained on Wednesday, officials said. The agency urged residents in those areas to stay indoors, and to avoid using swamp coolers or wood-burning appliances. A raging wildfire that forced thousands from their homes on the edge of Los Angeles continued to burn Monday as frustrated fire officials said residents reluctant to heed evacuation orders made conditions more unsafe and destructive for their neighbors.
The single fire fatality was identified on Tuesday as Robert Bresnick, 67, whose body was found Saturday inside a burned-out auto parked in a driveway, said Ed Winter, assistant chief Los Angeles County coroner. Since the blaze broke out, 18 homes in Sand Canyon, Bear Divide and Little Tujunga were destroyed, one structure was damaged and five suffered minor damage.
The Wyoming fire in a remote region burned almost 28 square kilometres and forced the evacuations of 900 people but no homes had burned by Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
The fire started Friday north of Big Sur and was just 10 percent contained.
Antczak reported from Los Angeles.
An estimated 20,000 people were evacuated as the fire raged, most evacuation orders were lifted at 7 p.m. Monday, but the orders still remain in effect in some places.
There are almost 3,000 firefighters involved in combating the massive blaze, working in grueling temperatures in the low 100s.
Most of the roughly 20,000 evacuees forced out by a wildfire have been cleared to go home, but firefighters still had huge work ahead in taming a massive wildfire northwest of Los Angeles.
Crews battling a deadly wildfire in rugged, drought-stricken terrain north of Los Angeles made steady progress in containing the blaze on Wednesday, after a bulldozer operator helping to fight a smaller wildfire in central California died overnight when the machine overturned, officials said.
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Firefighters faced drier conditions and temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) again on Tuesday, but winds remained calmer, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesman Nathan Judy.
