2 bodies found in burned vehicle in California wildfire zone

YREKA, Calif. (AP) — Two bodies were found inside a charred vehicle in a driveway in the wildfire zone of a raging California blaze that is among several burning in the western U.S. amid hot, dry and gusty conditions that boost the danger that the fires will keep growing, officials said Monday.

The McKinney Fire in Northern California near the stateline with Oregon exploded in size Sunday to more than 82 square miles (212 square km) after erupting Friday in the Klamath National Forest, firefighting officials said. It is California's largest wildfire of the year so far and officials have not determined the cause.

The vehicle and the bodies were found Sunday in the driveway of a residence near the remote community of Klamath River, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The blaze cast an eerie, orange-brown hue, in one neighborhood where a brick chimney stood surrounded by rubble and scorched vehicles on Sunday. Flames torched trees along State Route 96 and raced through hillsides in sight of homes.

Firefighting crews on the ground were trying to prevent the blaze from moving toward the town of Yreka, population about 7,500, about four miles (6.4 kilometers) away as of Sunday.

A second, smaller fire in the region that was sparked by dry lightning Saturday threatened the tiny California community of Seiad. Overall, officials said about 400 structures were threatened by the two fires.

Authorities have not confirmed the extent of the damages far in the areas that have burned, saying assessments would begin when it was safe to go inside them.

A third fire, which was on the southwest end of the McKinney blaze, prompted evacuation orders for around 500 homes Sunday, said Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson with the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.

The office...