California Wildfire Is Joint Deadliest In State History With 29 Dead

california wildfire deadliest

Photographer, Adam Fanton, snapped this photo just days before the devastating Woolsey Fire broke out

Woolsey has spread to 83,275 acres and was 5 percent contained as of Saturday night.

Progress was made on the lines of the smaller Hill fire to the west in Ventura County, which was 70 percent contained at about seven square miles, and evacuations were greatly reduced. The Hill Fire has burned through 4,531 acres.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, Osby said.

Also injured was a well-known member of the Malibu City Council. Councilman Jefferson ‘Zuma Jay’ Wagner was injured while trying to save his home, which burned down, Councilman Skylar Peak told reporters Sunday.

Peak said Wagner was hospitalized but was expected to recover. Wagner runs Zuma Jay Surfboards, a longtime fixture on Pacific Coast Highway near the landmark Malibu Pier.

Police said two bodies were found ‘severely burned inside of a stopped vehicle on a long driveway in a sparsely populated stretch of Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Saturday after the Woolsey Fire tore through the area.

Authorities said investigators believed the driver became disoriented and the car was overcome by the blaze.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Chief John Benedict declined to offer additional details about the fatalities pending an official investigation.

california wildfire deadliest

As the human death toll for the deadliest wildfire on record in California history reached 31 on Sunday, rescuers continued to risk their safety to save animals too. Animal volunteer evacuator Tamara Houston (left) is seen comforting Cathy Fallon outside Fallon’s home

california wildfire deadliest

Rescued animals were corralled on Zuma beach in Malibu, California. This included llamas (pictured)

california wildfire deadliest

Rescued animals were held on Zuma beach in Malibu as the thickness of the smoke created a hazy sky for creatures including llamas, donkeys, horses, a pig, bunnies and even a giraffe

california wildfire deadliest

Mic McCrary, 27, sits on a motorized go-cart that he used to rescue his two dogs after the Camp Fire devastated the entire town of Paradise

california wildfire deadliest

Llamas were tied to a lifeguard stand on the beach in Malibu as the Woolsey Fire comes down the hill Friday

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The California Highway Patrol Northern Division Air Operations shared this aerial image to show a smoke-filled sky last week

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