REDDING, Calif. _ The Carr Fire claimed another victim Sunday.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told The Sacramento Bee that a sixth person had been found dead. He wasn't able to provide any additional details.
The fire continued turning west early Sunday, burning the western flanks of Shasta County while easing the immediate threat to the embattled city of Redding.
The deadly blaze, which had chewed through 89,000 acres as of early Sunday, began surging into Trinity County. The tiny Trinity County community of Lewiston, with a population of about 1,100, was evacuated late Saturday.
"It is crazy to think that just a few days ago the south side of (Highway) 299 was practically untouched," California Highway Patrol Sgt. Tim Hickson said in a Facebook Live post as he stood early Sunday at the Buckhorn Summit near the Shasta-Trinity border. "Now, driving up, it is glowing bright red on both sides of 299."
Just a few hours later, powerful, swirling winds blew clouds of smoke and embers across 299 just below the summit, west of Whiskeytown Lake, where the fire erupted. The visibility was so poor, two Bee journalists were forced to turn around and head back toward Redding.
Cal Fire officials said evacuation orders remained in place for the 38,000 Redding residents who fled their homes late Thursday and early Friday. Although winds were calm and the city seemed to be out of any additional danger, "we can't be complacent," Deputy Chief Scott McLean said at a morning briefing.
Nevertheless, it was clear that the situation was improving in Redding. "Things are looking so much better in western Redding," said Cal Fire Division Chief Chris Anthony. "We're really working hard in buckling those areas up today."
Less clear was how soon evacuated residents would be allowed to return home. Officials had been predicting that midweek would be the earliest, but Bosenko said an announcement on "re-population" could come soon.
There have been scattered reports of looting, and the Sheriff's Department announced its first arrest for looting Saturday. National Guard troops have been stationed at multiple road blocks around the city.
"We want to get (evacuees) back in as soon as possible," Bosenko said. "We believe, if everything goes well, that could be soon."
At the Shasta College evacuation center, Otis Bershers, 75, was waiting anxiously for word that he and his wife, Carol, could return to their home in the city of Shasta Lake, north of Redding.
They've been sleeping on cots on the lawn outside the college since late Thursday, and Otis Bershers is starting to run low on his medication. He has the chronic lung condition known as COPD, and breathing the smoky air isn't good for him. But he declined an offer to go to the hospital and said he wouldn't leave his wife or their cat, Smokey, who was tethered to their cots.
"God, I hope they lift it on my place," he said of the evacuation order. "I want to go home. But as long as I got my cat and her, I can't go wrong."
Stuart and Renee Bailey, sitting in their SUV outside their west Redding subdivision, were anxious to return home as well. Their property escaped the fire, but Stuart Bailey, a contractor, was hoping to stop in to pick up some tools for work. The couple also wanted to see if the home had been looted.
Law enforcement personnel turned them away. But the Baileys said they understood the need to be cautious. When another couple got miffed at being denied entry to the neighborhood, the Baileys told them to stay calm.
"Cut them some slack," he said, referring to the law enforcement officials. "You'll get in sooner or later."
The re-population process will be slow and will start with the areas that Cal Fire believes are safest from potential return of the fire. "We don't want to allow them back in, then if conditions change, have to re-evacuate," Bosenko said. "We can't open the floodgates. We have to do it in segments."
Utility crews are fixing gas lines and performing other repairs in preparation for re-population. By Sunday afternoon, Redding Electric Utility had restored power to 7,400 customers, leaving 600 without power, said utility director Dan Beans.
PG&E crews were fanning out in evacuated neighborhoods to conduct a crucial re-population task: Cutting off gas lines at burnt-out homes that sit next to homes that were untouched by the fire.
The fire was creating chaos at times along portions of the power grid in Shasta and Trinity counties. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had to evacuate personnel from hydro power plants in both counties, including massive Shasta Dam.
"We've been working really hard to keep the power on," said Reclamation spokeswoman Erin Curtis. "It's a regionwide issue that we're dealing with across the fire area."
Cal Fire said the fire was 5 percent contained. The agency said 515 buildings had been burned down, but that count was expected to rise significantly when officials can make a more detailed count.
The official death toll remains five: Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her two great-grandchildren, Emily, 4, and James, 5. The fire has also claimed Redding Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke, 37, and private bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, 81.
A GoFundMe account has been established for the Bledsoe family. A little more than $1,000 had been raised by midmorning Sunday.
Temperatures in Redding were anticipated to decrease Sunday, with a high near 99 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Winds, which have contributed to the fire's erratic behavior, were expected to top out at 9 mph.
A community meeting was scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Redding Civic Auditorium.
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