Stories Related to Two Die Fleeing California Wildfire

LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. — A deadly wildfire that roared through dry brush and trees in the mountains of central California gave residents little time to flee as flames burned dozens of homes to the ground, propane tanks exploded, and smoke obscured the path to safety. An elderly couple trying to flee from the flames were overcome with smoke outside of their house and killed, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said. Their bodies were found Friday near Lake Isabella, a popular recreation area east of Bakersfield that was ravaged by wind-whipped flames, said a county fire spokesman. At least 80 houses were destroyed in the southern Sierra Nevada as the fire burned out of control across nearly 47 square miles, leveling neighborhoods and forcing thousands of people to flee from fast-moving flames. The names of the two dead have not been released.