“There’s no easy way to put it,” Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said as he shared news of the victims Sunday afternoon during a community meeting held at an elementary school north of the rural community of Weed. He did not immediately provide names or other details, including the age or gender of the two people who died. Both LaRue and other officials said it’s unclear when people will be allowed back into their homes and when power will be restored for people who don’t. About 1,000 people were still subject to evacuation orders Sunday as firefighters worked to contain the blaze that burned out of control at the start of the holiday weekend. Meanwhile, the fire’s footprint had not expanded as of Saturday morning, although the nearby Mountain Fire grew in size Sunday, officials said. Authorities said winds, low humidity and dry vegetation would pose challenges for crews working to contain two wildfires that started Friday and quickly burned through dry grass. The Mill Fire quickly engulfed a neighborhood on the edge of the small town of Weed, forcing residents to flee immediately. “Both fires are still very dangerous,” Dan McNamara, with the Cal Fire State Fire Service, warned crews in a Sunday morning briefing, advising them to be careful of heat and hydration. “There are many hidden and unknown dangers there, so please keep your head on a spinning wheel.” Hundreds of firefighters from across the state helped battle the wildfires in the rural area near the Oregon border. They had achieved about 25 percent containment of the Mill Fire, which had burned nearly 7 square miles in Siskiyou County. The fire had destroyed 50 structures, according to Cal Fire, and injured three people. Two were taken to a local hospital and one was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, which has a burn unit. Crews had contained 5 percent of the Mountain fire, which was about 10 square miles. More than 1,300 people are under evacuation in the areas affected by the fires. Temperatures in Weed could rise as high as 39C over the next few days. Wildfires are a part of life in this part of California, but recent years have been especially difficult as the state faces a historic drought and the climate crisis makes the American West hotter and drier. The largest wildfire of the year so far, the McKinney Fire, killed four in Siskiyou County, including a veteran fire watchman, and destroyed nearly 200 buildings. Weed, a town of 2,600 just off Interstate Five, has seen three major fires in eight years. Residents have become all too familiar with the smoke, ash and flames which means they must prepare to leave immediately. “Whenever this happens, I get really bad,” Judy Christenson, 63, told The Associated Press from a car at an evacuation center, with her cat. “I can’t think straight.” The fires have gotten worse, said Bob West, a lifelong resident who co-owns a local coffee and sandwich shop and has had to evacuate twice because of fire. “It’s a lot worse than it used to be,” he said. “It’s affecting our community because people are leaving because they don’t want to rebuild.” California is in the midst of a severe heatwave that is bringing days of triple-digit temperatures to large parts of the state. “Interior northern California is now headed for a truly dangerous, sweltering heat wave. All-time September records are now guaranteed in the Central Valley,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, said on Twitter. The heat would make outdoor work dangerous, Swain said, including for fire crews battling the flames while carrying heavy equipment. Earlier this week, seven firefighters were sent to the hospital after suffering thermal injuries while working on the Route fire in southern California. Thomas Ewald, the deputy chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said at the time that more heat emergencies were expected. “Wearing heavy firefighting gear, carrying bags, dragging hose, swinging tools, people out there just get beat up,” he said.
