More than 4,500 buildings at risk, officials say, with at least one arrest on suspicion of stealing from evacuated homes

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Thousands more people have fled their homes after wildfires surged near a small lake town in northern California as crews, stretched to their limits across the state, fight flames that have claimed the lives of both firefighters and civilians.

Residents of the waterfront town of Lakeport fled on Sunday after a major flare-up of two fires that combined across Mendocino and Lake counties destroyed at least four homes. Lakeport, home to about 5,000, is around 120 miles (192km) north of San Francisco.

More than 4,500 buildings were under threat, officials said. The two fires had blackened 47 sq miles (122 sq km), with minimal containment.

About 100 miles north-east, officials near Redding struck a hopeful tone for the first time in days as a massive fire slowed after days of explosive growth.

‘Get out! Get out!’ California wildfire evacuees tell of terror as blaze grew Read more

“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic today as we’re starting to gain some ground rather than being in a defensive mode on this fire all the time,” said Bret Gouvea, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s incident commander on the blaze around Redding, a city about 230 miles north of San Francisco.

The county sheriff, Tom Bosenko, said authorities found a sixth victim of the blaze at a home that was consumed by flames, though he declined to say where. The victim’s identity was not released.

The sheriff’s department was also investigating seven missing persons reports, Bosenko said. Redding police have an additional 11 reports of missing people, though many of them may simply not have checked in with friends or family, said Redding police’s Sgt Todd Cogle.

The fire that affected Redding – a city of about 92,000 people – was ignited by a vehicle problem on Monday about 10 miles west of the city. On Thursday, it swept through the historic gold rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, fuelled by gusty winds and dry vegetation. It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.

The Redding police chief, Roger Moore, kept up an around-the-clock work schedule despite learning that his home was one of those destroyed. He was finally able to shave on Saturday when his wife brought him a razor, he said.

Moore was helping evacuate people from his River Ridge neighbourhood in western Redding when the flames became unbearable. “I saw everything around it ignite, and I go: ‘It’s gone,’” Moore said.

At least one person was arrested on suspicion of stealing from evacuated homes and authorities were keeping watch for other potential looters, said the sheriff’s deputy, Travis Ridenour, whose home also burned.

“Lost our house like so many others,” Ridenour wrote on Facebook. “Still out watching over the ones still standing. No looting on my watch.”

The latest tally showed at least 657 homes destroyed and another 145 damaged, with the fire having consumed 149 sq miles.

Keswick, a mountain town of about 450 people, was reduced to an ashy moonscape of blackened trees and smouldering rubble.

The terrain surrounding nearby Whiskeytown Lake – usually filled in July with holidaymakers swimming in the clear water – was burned, burning or seemingly about to burn on Sunday. A heavy haze hung low over the water, where some of the docked boats had melted. Firefighters and utility repair crews drove up and down the once-scenic highway, while California Department of Transportation water trucks sprayed roadsides in hopes of preventing potential wildfires from burning across the road, which can cost several million dollars to repair.

The fatalities included two firefighters and a woman and her two great-grandchildren.

“My babies are dead,” Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met on Saturday with sheriff’s deputies.

Her two children, five-year-old James Roberts and four-year-old Emily Roberts, were stranded with their great-grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, 70, when flames swept through the family’s rural property on Thursday on the outskirts of Redding.

The sixth victim, who was not identified, did not evacuate despite receiving a warning, Bosenko said.

It is the largest fire burning in California, threatening more than 5,000 structures. The flames were just 5% contained, though Gouvea said he expected that number to climb.