3rd body found near Southern California wildfire

MALIBU, Calif.— Authorities were investigating a report of a body found within the burn zone of a huge wildfire in Southern California, but the coroner’s office was unable to confirm Wednesday whether it was burned.

Two deaths were previously linked to the weeklong blaze in Ventura and Los Angeles counties that was 47 percent contained after scorching more than 152 square miles (394 square kilometers), engulfing homes, scenic canyon getaways and celebrity estates.

The body under investigation was found in a burned residence in the Agoura Hills area. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department called it an apparent fire-related death but did not immediately have any further information.

The Woolsey fire flared before sunrise Wednesday in rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains as winds buffeted parts of the region.

The flare-up sent a huge column of smoke out to sea as it burned in parklands well away from communities.

The National Weather Service said winds would slack off sufficiently during the afternoon to allow authorities to lower wildfire warnings from their highest “red flag” levels.

Forecasters cautioned, however, that low humidity levels would keep danger levels elevated.

Authorities allowed residents back into several more communities on Tuesday, including a section of Malibu. Other areas have been repopulated since the weekend. As many as 250,000 people were ordered out at the height of the fire.

Officials tempered optimism with caution, saying there were hotspots and pockets of unburned vegetation that could ignite.

“We are not out of the woods yet. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us,” Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said Tuesday.

The two adults found dead last week in a car overtaken by flames have not been identified.

The number of homes and other structures destroyed stood at 435 but that number was expected to rise.

A new fire erupted late Tuesday about 75 miles (121 kilometers) to the east in the Fontana area of San Bernardino County, but firefighters reported good progress overnight, holding the blaze to 147 acres (59 hectares).

Northern California fire

A fire official said fire crews aided by cooler weather and diminishing winds have managed to slow the spread of a massive Northern California blaze that killed at least 48 people.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott McLean said Wednesday the blaze has charred 210 square miles (544 square kilometers) and that it is one-third contained.

He said strong winds have subsided and humidity is up, helping more than 5,600 firefighters.

McLean said the fire that leveled the town of Paradise “is looking really good at the moment.”

He said aircraft including 21 helicopters are helping in the effort to halt the fire that destroyed 7,600 homes.

But McLean says smoke is heavy and low to the ground and that could affect visibility and hamper their efforts.

A lawsuit was filed Tuesday over a wildfire in Northern California, where at least 48 people died in the Camp Fire that obliterated the town of Paradise. The suit on behalf of some victims accuses Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of causing the massive blaze.

A landowner near where the fire began said PG&E notified her the day before the wildfire that crews needed to come onto her property because wires were sparking.

Myers reported from Thousand Oaks. Associated Press writers John Antczak and Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.