2 dead as Mill Fire scorches nearly 4,300 acres in Northern California

WEED, Calif. — Two women died in the Mill Fire that ignited Friday in the Northern California city of Weed.

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The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the fatalities during a Sunday afternoon news conference, noting that the blaze had scorched 4,254 acres and was 25% contained by a line of bulldozers, ground crews and hoses at that time, The Mercury News reported.

According to officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the two victims were 66 and 73, and their bodies were located within the Weed city limits, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office told the newspaper that the women, whose names have not been released publicly, were discovered by first responders after the blaze erupted Friday.

Meanwhile, the separate Mountain Fire, which ignited in the city of Gazelle about 15 miles to the west, had burned 8,460 acres and was 10% contained by late Sunday afternoon, Cal Fire spokesman Rick Carhart confirmed to The Mercury News.

Both fires continued burning Monday and officials estimate that at least 100 homes were destroyed in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Weed and in nearby Lake Shastina, according to the Bee.

Carhart also confirmed that roughly 800 personnel are assigned to both fires.

No other residents have been reported as missing, the sheriff’s office confirmed.

City officials in Weed have said the Mill Fire likely began at a shed in an unused portion of the Roseburg Forest Products mill, although Cal Fire has not confirmed where or how the blaze began, the Bee reported.

According to the newspaper, six people have died in wildfires this summer in California, all of them in Siskiyou County. July’s McKinney Fire claimed the first four victims.

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