By NOAH BERGER and CHRISTOPHER WEBERYREKA, Calif. — Two bodies were found inside a charred vehicle in a driveway in the wildfire zone of a raging California blaze that was among several menacing thousands of homes Monday in the western U.S., officials said. Hot and gusty weather and lightning storms threatened to boost the danger that the fires will keep growing,
The smoky blaze cast an eerie, orange-brown hue in one neighborhood where a brick chimney stood surrounded by rubble and scorched vehicles on Sunday. Flames torched trees along State Route 96 and raced through hillsides in sight of homes. A chimney stands behind cars as the McKinney Fire burns in Klamath National Forest, Calif., on Sunday, July 31, 2022.
Flames from the McKinney Fire burn beyond firefighters in Klamath National Forest, Calif., on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Angela Crawford walks past her home as a wildfire called the McKinney fire burns above it in Klamath National Forest, Calif., on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Crawford and her husband stayed, as other residents evacuated, to defend their home from the fire.
A horse grazes in a pasture as the McKinney Fire burns in Klamath National Forest, Calif., Saturday, July 30, 2022. A scorched pickup truck rests on California Highway 96 in Klamath National Forest, Calif., as the McKinney Fire burns nearby, Saturday, July 30, 2022. Firefighting crews on the ground were trying to prevent the blaze from moving closer to the town of Yreka, population about 7,500. The blaze was about four miles away as of Monday.