Tom Bosenko, the Shasta County sheriff, said at a news conference Sunday that the latest victim was found after the fire consumed the individual’s home. He did not identify the victim or say where in the region the death had happened.
Seven people were still reported missing, he said.
The Carr Fire is among the largest and most vicious fires ravaging California, but it is not the only one taxing the state during its expanding wildfire season. A firefighter died Sunday while battling the Ferguson Fire, which is near Yosemite National Park and has led to evacuations there. And a separate blaze also forced evacuations northwest of Sacramento on Sunday.
The Carr fire has claimed six lives since it began July 23. Melody Bledsoe of Redding, California, and her great-grandchildren, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, died after the fire engulfed Bledsoe’s home, a family representative said. In a Facebook post, Bledsoe’s granddaughter said her grandmother had tried to save the children, writing that she had “hovered over them both with a wet blanket.”
Officials have also identified two other victims, Jeremy Stoke, a firefighter, and Don Ray Smith, a bulldozer operator.
The fire, which officials have called extremely dangerous with “no regard for what’s in its path,” scorched more than 80,000 acres Saturday, up from more than 40,000 Friday.
By Sunday morning, the tally was up to 89,000 acres. In total, about 500 structures have been destroyed and 135 damaged.
“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic today as we are starting to gain some ground, rather than being on the defensive mode on this fire all the time,” Deputy Chief Bret Gouvea of CalFire said at the news conference.
The fire was 5 percent contained, but he estimated that firefighters would make gains on it by Sunday evening.
The blaze has forced about 39,000 people to evacuate. The authorities said they were patrolling evacuated areas around the clock.
“If we don’t arrest them for looting, they will be arrested for something else,” Chief Roger Moore of the Redding Police Department said. “It’s a no-tolerance stance.”
Officials asked for patience as they continued to battle the blaze and ensure that the threat had passed before allowing residents back to their homes.
“We are here until the end, and we will get to an end and we will bring some peace to this chaos,” Gouvea said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Sarah Mervosh © 2018 The New York Times
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