REDDING, Calif. _ The body of another victim of a wildfire burning in Shasta County was found Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities to six, including two firefighters, authorities said.
The identity of the victim or and details of how the person died were not immediately available, officials said at a news conference in Redding. The discovery came one day after a family member confirmed the deaths of a 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren.
Authorities said half a dozen other people were still reported missing.
With the unyielding temperatures over 100 degrees and bone-dry vegetation, authorities said there was no end in sight to the Carr fire. From Friday night to Saturday morning, the fire doubled in size to more than 80,000 acres. The fire appears to be moving west into Trinity County and away from residential areas.
As of Sunday, the blaze had burned more than 89,000 acres and was still only 5 percent contained, authorities said. Erratic winds and hot, dry conditions continue to hamper firefighting efforts. A red-flag warning and heat advisory will remain in effect through Monday.
Tom Dang, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Sacramento office, said that over the next few days, humidity will fall to around 10 to 15 percent, and wind gusts of up to 20 mph are still expected in the afternoons and evenings.
Daniel Potter, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said firefighters Sunday would focus on protecting structures on the eastern and southeastern edge of the fire, which still poses some threat to the communities of Redding and Shasta Lake. He said hand crews _ aided by bulldozers _ were working furiously to establish more fire lines before winds start picking up from the east later in the afternoon.
The winds so far have not been as bad as in previous days, he said, noting that such breaks in the weather help.
"If there's limited winds it gives us the chance to get on the fire's edge and try to stop it," Potter said.
Hand crews have been doing most of the firefighting because heavy smoke has made visibility a challenge for aircraft, he said.
The blaze in Shasta County was one of 17 major wildfires burning across California Sunday, consuming a combined 200,000 acres, said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief and information officer with Cal Fire.
"We've had 17 fires before," Cox said. "But these are impacting communities _ and they're large fires, not small."
With so many fires burning near populated areas, "resources are obviously stretched thin," he said.
By Sunday afternoon, about 12,000 firefighters from within the state had responded. Another 800 personnel _ soldiers and helicopter crews _ had been deployed by the California National Guard. And 150 fire engines were on the way from other parts of the country, Cox said.
"There's a finite number of (firefighting) resources in California, and obviously we're employing them at the highest-priority incidents where the threat to lives and structures is the highest," Cox said.
On Twitter, officials with the state's Office of Emergency Services said California will be receiving help from crews from at least a dozen other states, including Florida and New Jersey.
The deaths of Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her great-grandchildren, Emily Roberts, 5, and James Roberts, 4, were announced Saturday by family members. The three were killed when their Redding home burned Thursday night.
Bledsoe's granddaughter Amanda Woodley confirmed the news about their deaths Saturday in a public Facebook post written just after she left the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. Woodley said Bledsoe did everything she could to save the children.
"She was hovered over them both with a wet blanket," she wrote.
"My heart is crushed," she said. "I can't believe this is real. I just keep seeing all of their beautiful faces."
Bledsoe and her two great-grandchildren were reported missing late Friday by a family friend. They hadn't been seen since their Redding home burned Thursday night.
Bledsoe's husband, Ed Bledsoe, wasn't home when the fire struck, according to an online fundraiser site created by another family member. The family did not believe their home was under evacuation, and Ed went out to get supplies. The family was renting and did not have insurance.
According to news reports, the children called their great-grandfather while he was at the store saying the fire was approaching.
Speaking to the Sacramento Bee, Ed Bledsoe wept as he recounted trying to get back to the house.
"God almighty, I don't know what I done wrong," he said. "I talked to them until the fire got them."
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said no bodies had been found yet, but his investigators are "overwhelmingly sure that there are decedents at the scene." He said access to the home has been difficult as the walls collapsed during the fire.
The fire, started Monday by a vehicle mechanical failure on California Highway 299, previously claimed the lives of Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith.
In responding to questions about the Bledsoe family's fate, the sheriff implored residents to promptly obey evacuation orders. More than 38,000 people have been displaced under the mandatory orders. The sheriff said 260 National Guard soldiers called into the area Saturday will help staff roadblocks to keep residents from danger and assist local law enforcement in ensuring that those ordered to leave do so.
Authorities are investigating 13 other missing-person cases connected to the fire. Redding Police Sgt. Todd Cogle said that there are indications that some reported missing are safe. When officers went to their addresses, he said, they found homes still standing and doors locked. In some cases, he said, people may have fled their homes without cellphones and might be unable to connect with relatives.
"My hope is that we are able to find all of them eventually; however, the possibility does exist that there may be far more grave situations for some of them," Cogle said.
In addition to the human cost, at least 500 homes and other structures have succumbed to flames, authorities said. High winds are driving embers beyond the fire lines and igniting roofs and trees.
Evacuees filled the region's hotels as well as several facilities set up by the Red Cross. An evacuation center at Shasta College in Redding quickly reached capacity. The 500 people bunking down in the campus' cafeteria and gymnasium included residents of three senior care facilities, many of whom are not mobile, according to Peter Griggs, the college's director of marketing and outreach. The campus is "at a very safe distance" from the fire, he said.
Ricky Young, incident commander for the National Park Service, said several wildfires burning across the state made it difficult to throw additional resources at the Carr fire.
As a result, the state has requested assistance from agencies outside of California.
While this year's fire season has already devastated California, it seems unlikely to relent, said climatologist Bill Patzert. Several cities set heat records this year _ in July _ but the most serious heat waves, Patzert said, typically don't arrive until September.
"The dog days are not here yet," he said. "We're in for a long, hot summer."
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(Ryan reported from Los Angeles. Andrea Castillo, Marisa Gerber and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde contributed to this report.)
