Death toll increases to 5 as Northern Calif. fire spreads
REDDING, Calif. — The death count from a rapidly growing Northern California wildfire rose to five yesterday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead.
“My babies are dead,” Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met with Shasta County sheriff’s deputies.
Bledsoe’s two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when fire swept through the rural area where they were staying Thursday.
The three were among more than a dozen people reported missing after the furious wind-driven blaze took residents by surprise and leveled several neighborhoods.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said he expects to find several of those people alive and just out of touch with loved ones. Officers have gone to homes of several people reported missing and found that cars were gone — a strong indication they fled.
The fire that was ignited Monday in forested hills grew overnight to 127 square miles. It pushed southwest of Redding toward tiny communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point, where scorching heat, winds and bone-dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts.
It’s now the largest of more than 20 fires burning in California. The winds that aided firefighters in keeping the flames from more populated areas were propelling it forward at a frightening rate.
“We’re not getting a break with the weather,” said Chris Anthony, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires. “It just continues to be really hot, really dry and we continue to get those winds. ... This fire’s getting so big and there are so many different parts to it.”
Two firefighters were killed and the latest tally of 500 destroyed structures was sure to rise. A count by The Associated Press found more than 300 homes destroyed.
About 37,000 people are under evacuation orders, 5,000 homes are threatened and the fire was just 5 percent contained.