(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –A sixth person has died in the Carr Fire in Northern California, the authorities said on Sunday, as officials hinted they could be nearing a turning point in fighting the vast and erratic wildfire that has been burning for nearly a week.
Tom Bosenko, the Shasta County sheriff, said at a news conference on Sunday that the latest victim was found after the fire consumed the person’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 currently ravaging California, but it isn’t the only one taxing the state during its expanding wildfire season. A firefighter died on 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 on July 23. Melody Bledsoe of Redding, Calif., and her great-grandchildren, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, died after the fire engulfed Ms. Bledsoe’s home, a family representative said. In a Facebook post, Ms. Bledsoe’s granddaughter said her grandmother had tried to save the children, writing that she had “hovered over them both with a wet blanket.”
