All evacuation orders there were lifted, however. More than 10,00 firefighters are battling the blazes.
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UPDATE 9/19/15 8:25 p.m.: Two homes were damaged in the Laureles Fire, firefighters said.
The massive Valley Fire, already the sixth-most damaging fire in California history, continued to burn amid high temperatures Sunday as crews continue to build fire lines to bring it under control.
Other media reports stated that the death may be connected to the start of the blaze, but Cal Fire spokeswoman Colleen Baxter said the cause of the fire has not been determined. It is 53 percent contained. Officials had reported 252 homes destroyed as of Friday night.
“I was out fighting the fire on the other end, and then my whole place burned down”, Bob Eaton, a volunteer firefighter with the fire protection district, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “My parent’s house, right below me, it burned down”. Ten residences and 12 buildings were damaged, while 70 structures are still threatened.
At least 162 more homes have been destroyed by wildfires in California as officials investigated a suspicious death by fire.
But there is help on the way for victims of the Butte Fire in Mountain Ranch, and in Jackson, where the Central Church of Christ has been taking in food, water and cleaning supplies to provide relief to those in need….
Authorities earlier said they will allow residents to go back to Hidden Valley Lake, one of the largest areas ravaged by the so-called Valley fire.
The fire, which has killed at least two people and burned 110 square miles in the Sierra Nevada foothills, was more than 70 percent contained. All that remained was melted metal and ash, nothing like the gracious two-story home Lee said she could still envision, with its fruit orchard and a vegetable garden prized by her mother.
The Napa County Fairgrounds’ temporary shelter for Valley Fire evacuees is scheduled to close at 10 a.m. Thursday to assist Lake County residents in getting long-term support services in their communities, Napa County announced Monday afternoon.
He says more than 30,000 people had to evacuate because of the blazes.
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The blaze quickly grew to 1,200 acres (485 hectares) after starting Saturday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
