(Newswire.net — July 25, 2016) —Firefighters have been battling with fires in California since Friday, which forced thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes. A burnt body was found on Saturday night, north of Los Angeles, where about 20 square miles of vegetation burned and about 1,500 homes were evacuated.
The body of the dead man was found in a house in Santa Clarita, and investigators are trying to determine whether the person died in the fire, or if there is another cause of death, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Rob Hahnlein.
This area is one of several which were ordered to be evacuated due to the rapid spread of the fire through dry canyons and farms.
The fire continued to burn, and firefighters have said that several buildings were affected. The area is still unsafe.
The Fire Department said in an update at 8 a.m. Pacific that only 10 percent of the fire was contained by Sunday, as it burned along the edge of Santa Clara and made its way through the Los Angeles National Forest, with little chance of calming.
About 1,700 firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire, reports USA Today.
The forecast for temperatures near 100 degrees and humidity at 10%, with wind gusting up to 20 mph, will allow firefighters to “make good progress” Sunday, the department said.
A Bengal tiger and as well other exotic animals have been evacuated from the Wildlife Waystation reserve, where rescued exotic animals live.
Police have said that more than 220 horses, dozens goats and other animals were removed from the area affected by the fires.
About 300 miles up the the coast, firefighters from the The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are fighting a mountain fire that affected about eight square miles of the Big Sur region south of Garrapata State Park, which is closed now. The fire has threatened about 1,650 houses. Evacuation of Palo Colorado has been ordered, said the California authorities.