NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - (INT) - Another fatality has been reported in the ongoing effort to control fires burning in Northern California.

Heavy Equipment Operator Varney, 36, died Saturday while fighting the Ferguson Fire on the Sierra National Forest. Varney was a second generation CAL FIRE employee and 10-year veteran of CAL FIRE.

Meantime, the Klamathon Fire in Siskiyou County continues to expand.

One unidentified civilian was killed in the blaze and three firefighters were injured. So far, 81 structures have been destroyed, 12 damaged and 810 remain threatened, Cal Fire said.

The Klamathon blaze started after a resident living southwest of the Klamath River allegedly lit a small fire on a friend’s property, which then spread to a tree, jumped the river and spread into nearby hills.

The body of a resident found in the community of Hornbrook has still not been identified.

Evacuations were ordered for the communities of Hornbrook, Hilt, Colestin Irongate Reservoir and Klamath River Estates in California. Evacuations were also ordered for Jackson County in Oregon. Emergency shelters were set up at schools in Yreka and Ashland, Ore.

The fires are among more than a dozen burning throughout California.

Story Date: July 19, 2018