Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare walk for miles to catch up with the back fire they created along Fricot City Road to try to contain the growing Butte Fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesOutdoor furniture and a lone flower pot sits in the foreground of the destruction caused by the Valley fire in a residential neighborhood of Middletown.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA firefighter sprays water mixed with foam to control the back fire along Fricot City Road near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesFirefighter Scott Dong checks a structure for victims at a residence along Highway 175 in Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA burned out wheel chair sits in the rubble Middletown.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare work to create a back fire along Fricot City Road to try to contain the growing Butte Fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters do mop up work putting out understory flames along Highway 175 near Cobb, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA firefighter pauses to check on the growing Butte fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA sign in front of a destroyed home in Middletown, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesWillow Stephens, 5, gives water to chickens that were evacuated along with her family and neighbors when the Valley fire bore down on their homes in Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA untouched fence stands near the rubble of homes destroyed by the Valley fire in Middletown, Calif., on Sept. 14.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA hilltop home on Shenandoah Road in Cobb Mountain, Calif., was left in ruins after the Valley fire raced through.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA charred carport and vehicles are all that remain of a two-story apartment complex in Middletown.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesSmoke rises from the charred remains of a home and garden in Anderson Springs after a steady rain.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesHighway Patrol officers prepare to evacuate along Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown Tuesday afternoon as winds kick up.
Stephen Lam / Getty ImagesA car burns in front of a burning home in the Valley fire on Sept. 13, 2015, in Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters build a backfire to protect homes in a residential neighborhood near Seigler Springs, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesCharred cabins and blackened cedar trees line a sidewalk at Hoberg's Resort & Spa in Cobb, Calif. The Valley Fire destroyed every building at the popular family resort.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesThe Valley fire ravaged a residential neighborhood in Middletown.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters scramble to try to control a house aflame after a wildfire swept through a county road near Seigler Springs, Calif., on Sunday night.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesRiverside firefighter Chris Winder holds a vase found amid the ashes of a house in Anderson Springs, Calif., on Sept. 17.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters leave the scene after containing most of the flames and the surrounding areas in a wildfire that destroyed a home near Seigler Springs, Calif.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesCalifornia firefighter Scott Dong walks through a destroyed structure along Highway 175 in Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFire crews create a fire line and contain a spreading wildfire on the outskirts of Middletown, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times"It'll be a miracle" if it didn't burn, said Lee Stacy, left, of her home in Cobb Mountain, who gets a hug from Mickey Aiello at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters search the rubble of destroyed homes for hotspots after the Valley fire tore through neighborhoods in Middletown, Calif., on Sept. 14.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA home is destroyed in the path of the Valley fire near Seigler Springs, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters extinguish hotspots in the rubble of a home.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesA tree fire continues to burn in the Anderson Springs community Tuesday morning after the Valley fire roared through the area near Santa Rosa.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesA fire truck drives along Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown Tuesday afternoon as winds kick up the Valley fire.
Lee Romney / Los Angeles TimesGail Barrett, 68, on left, sits with her neighbor, 63-year-old Carol Trautwein, 63, at the Red Cross shelter in Kelseyville. Their phones went dead before they could receive a mandatory evacuation order and a siren that used to sound at the volunteer fire department down the road to announce emergencies didn't.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesDave Burns digs into a Red Cross toiletries bag before bedding down on a cot at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga. The 50-year resident of Middletown said the Valley fire rolled over his family's truck and heavy equipment business.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters look for hotspots on Sept. 14 after the Valley fire destroyed homes in Middletown, Calif.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesThe sun rises Tuesday morning along Highway 175 in Middletown after the Valley fire roared through the area near Santa Rosa.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesCalFire investigators leave a cordoned off hillside along High Valley Road in Cobb Mountain, where it is suspected that the enormous Valley fire may have started.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesJay Albertson views the remains of the home where he had lived for 30 years. "This is a chapter in our lives that is gone forever," he said.forever."
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesSitting in a tent at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga, Calif., Sidney Conklin, 8, with her mother Patrice Conklin, holds a cellphone with a photo of their Middletown home that burned to the ground in the Valley fire.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesJohn Ryon rests with his family in a camping tent at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga, Calif. Their home in Middletown was destroyed yesterday by the Valley fire.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesMichael Barnes and his family carry new blankets and pillows to be donated to fire victims at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesGary Prather, a retired Cal Fire captain, digs around a smoldering tree trunk.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesMelted metal that flowed from a burned out car sits on a pavement in Hidden Valley Lakes.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesAftermath of the Valley fire in Hidden Valley Lakes.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesCrews dig a line to stop fires from advancing near Middletown, Calif.
Kent Porter / The Press Democrat / APA car is engulfed in flames as the Valley fire leaps Highway 29 in Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare watch a back fire along Fricot City Road as they try to contain the growing Butte fire.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA downed utility pole blocks Gifford Springs Road in Cobb, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesThe Prather family -- Jon, Stacey, Danny, Darryl and Gary -- sprang into action after the Valley fire started, helping to cut fire lines, extinguish spot fires and deliver supplies even after evacuations were ordered.
Kent Porter / The Press Democrat / APLake County sheriff's officers prepare to evacuate Butts Canyon Road in Middletown as the Valley fire jumps Highway 29.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesDesiccated oak leaves that are bent in the same direction on a tree about 200 yards up a hill from a fire-damaged building on High Valley Road in Cobb Mountain, Calif. Although investigators have not confirmed that building as the source of the Valley fire, evidence is strong. Official confirmation from Cal Fire has not been released.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA Caltrans crew clears a fire-weakened tree that was cut down as a safety precaution along Highway 175 on Cobb Mountain on Sept. 14.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesRain begins to fall on Mellisa Bennett, who is living in a tent city at the evacuation center at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. Her mother lost her home in Middletown on the first day of the Valley fire.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA burned car sits on the corner of a street after the Valley fire ravaged and destroyed an entire neighborhood in Cobb Mountain, Calif.
Kent Porter / The Press Democrat / APThe Valley fire burns a home along Highway 29 in Hidden Valley.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters keep an eye on the Valley fire along Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown Tuesday afternoon as winds kick up again.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesBonnie Albertson searches for their family cat, Blue, in the rubble of their home in Hidden Valley Lake.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesYolanda Limones and her granddaughter Jasmine Rojo, 6 watch as Martin Borges covers their tent as rain begins to fall at the evacuation center in Calistoga. Borges lost his home in Middletown on the first day of the Valley fire. "The rain is good if it puts out the fire and will prevent more victims," he said. "It's a blessing."
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesThe charred metal skeleton of a carport and vehicles at the Middletown Manor apartments Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters build a backfire to protect homes in a residential neighborhood near Seigler Springs, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesSonya Young and her daughters Bell, 9, and Sofia,11, are served breakfast by local school district and Rotary Club volunteers at the Napa County Fairgrounds evacuation center in Calistoga.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesFrancisco Cervantes defended his Middletown home from the Valley fire with a garden hose. Later, he used buckets of water from his neighbor's swimming pool.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesMelted red white and blue bunting frames homes destroyed in the Valley fire along Highway 175 in Middletown, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesWinnie Pugh, 85 is consoled by a local resident at the Napa County Fairgrounds fire evacuation center in Calistoga, CA on Sept 16, 2015. The Valley Fire destroyed Pugh's Middletown family home of 3 generations and all of her posessions.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesA firefighter runs to his fire truck along Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown Tuesday afternoon.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesA statue sits in the foreground of burned down homes in Hidden Valley Lakes.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesThe remains of a home burned in the fast-moving and deadly Valley fire near Middletown, Calif.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesThe Valley fire crosses Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown on Tuesday.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA Los Angeles Fire Department crew moves past the ruins of a house on Big Canyon Road in Cobb Mountain, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesAn air tanker drops fire retardant over a fire south of Middletown on Tuesday.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesInvestigators from Napa County Fire Department search for bodies at the site of a home destroyed by the Valley Fire on Sunday in Cobb Mountain.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA sign on a fence in Middletown addresses the recent looting of homes that have been evacuated in the wake of the Valley fire.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesJustin White throws up his hands in frustration after finding nothing to retrieve from the ruins of his apartment in Middletown, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesA view of the area ravaged by the Valley fire off Big Canyon Rd near Cobb Mountain, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters move away after a back fire burn goes out of control along Fricot City Road as they try to contain the Butte fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesLessie Young embraces her daughter, Sonya Young, after seeing her burned home in Middletown, Calif. The family had been evacuated because of the Valley fire a week earlier.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesFire retardant coats a car parked in a driveway in the samll community of Cobb Mountain.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesThe fire left behind blackened skeletons of trees and a swing set in the backyard of a home on Big Canyon Road in Cobb Mountain, Calif.
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles TimesA firefighter runs to his fire truck along Butts Canyon Road southeast of Middletown Tuesday afternoon as winds pick up.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times"I lost everything into a pile of ash - art, books, computers, photos,' said Najma Fichthorn at the Red Cross evacuation center in Calistoga. 'I feel my soul has been taken away. This is a huge spiritual test."
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesCables are tangled near the remains of a home in Cobb, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesCaltrans tree crew member Clayton Loflin works at taking down a tree that was weakened by the Valley fire along Highway 175 on Cobb Mountain on Sept. 14.
Kent Porter / The Press Democrat / APA home and shop are burned by the Valley fire as it enters Middletown in Lake County.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesThe Valley fire destroyed an apartment complex in Middletown, Calif., on Sunday.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesCrews dig a line to stop fires from advancing near Middletown, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare work to create a back fire along Fricot City Road to try to contain the growing Butte Fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare work to create a back fire along Fricot City Road to try to contain the Butte fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesDoug Troyer, 68, looks out at the smoldering Valley fire.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesFallen trees burn on California 29 in Middletown.
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times"I lost everything into a pile of ash - art, books, computers, photos,' said Najma Fichthorn at the Red Cross evacuation center in Calistoga. 'I feel my soul has been taken away. This is a huge spiritual test."
Don Bartletti / Los Angeles TimesFirefighter Eddie Blevins sprays water on the smoldering ruins of a home on Bleuss Court in Cobb Mountain.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighter Andrew Dodds watches the back fire burning along Fricot City Road as firefighters try to contain the growing Butte fire.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare work to create a back fire along Fricot City Road to try to contain the Butte fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesAndrew Dodds mans the water line as firefighters work to start a backfire to contain the Butte fire on Fricot City Road near Sheeps Ranch, Calif., on Sept. 12.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesHomes and structures are just burned remains after the Valley fire in Cobb Mountain, Calif.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles TimesFirefighters from Tulare work to create a back fire along Fricot City Road to try to contain the growing Butte Fire.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times
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Firefighters from Tulare walk for miles to catch up with the back fire they created along Fricot City Road to try to contain the growing Butte Fire near Sheep Ranch, Calif.
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Authorities say two more bodies have been found in homes burned by a California wildfire, bringing the death toll from the blazes in the northern part of the state to five.
The Lake County Sheriff’s office says official identifications have yet to be made, but they are presumed to be the bodies of Bruce Beven Burns and former San Jose Mercury News police reporter, Leonard Neft.
Neft last spoke with his family Saturday evening.
Authorities earlier found his burned-out car on the route he would have used to escape.
Cadaver dogs found the bodies in the Hidden Valley area and the Anderson Springs area Tuesday night, Brooks said. Two more people remain missing.
Authorities on Sunday found the body of 72-year-old Barbara McWilliams in her burned-out home near Middletown.
About 170 miles southeast, in a separate wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, two bodies were found inside burned-out homes, Calaveras County coroner Kevin Raggio said.
One of the victims was identified as 65-year-old Mark McCloud who was found inside his residence Tuesday in the Mountain Ranch area.
Raggio wouldn’t release the name of the second victim, also found inside a home in Mountain Ranch, because the family has not been notified.
The tragedy comes as firefighters gained ground on the massive blazes thanks to cooler weather.
Rain fell steadily on Wednesday at an evacuation center where hundreds of people were staying in trucks and tents.
Associated Press
