First Wildfire Death Of 2024 Confirmed By CA Authorities

MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA — California fire officials have confirmed the first death of the 2024 wildfire season as strong winds and an extended heat wave continue to fuel blazes across the state.

CAL Fire and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said they found burned human remains early Tuesday morning inside a structure near the 94500 block of Mina Road, north of Covelo. Identification is pending; however, authorities said they likely belong to a woman who was reported missing Monday afternoon.

According to officials, 66-year-old Dagmar Stankova was reported missing around 2:15 p.m. Authorities said her family last saw her attempting to extinguish flames with a garden hose after a burn pile on the property sparked a wildfire.

The blaze — dubbed the Mina Fire — has since burned 98 acres and is 70 percent contained as of Friday afternoon, according to CAL Fire.

After receiving the missing person report, deputies were unable to access the area surrounding the residence where Stankova was last seen due to the intensity of the wildfire, the sheriff's office said. Authorities instead worked to evacuate residents in the area.

Fire personnel located the remains around 2 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Authorities in Western states have warned of the rising risk of wildfires amid a protracted heat wave this week that dried out the landscape, set temperature records and put lives at risk.

There have been other wildfires deaths in the West this season, including three people who were killed in New Mexico’s Ruidoso blaze.

California’s top fire official said this week that so far this year, the state has responded to more than 3,500 wildfires that have scorched nearly 325 square miles — five times the average burned through July 10 in each of the past five years.

“We are not just in a fire season, but we are in a fire year,” Joe Tyler, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said at a news conference. “Our winds and the recent heat wave have exacerbated the issue, consuming thousands of acres. So we need to be extra cautious.”

California crews working in scorching temperatures and single-digit humidity were battling numerous wildfires Thursday, including a stubborn 53-square-mile blaze that prompted evacuation orders for about 200 homes in the mountains of Santa Barbara County northwest of Los Angeles. It was 16% contained as of Friday afternoon.

California’s fires began in earnest in early June, following back-to-back wet winters that pulled the state out of drought but spawned abundant grasses that have since dried out. A June blitz of lightning ignited some of the fires, a risk that may return with thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada this weekend, forecasters said.

CAL Fire is currently battling several blazes throughout the state. Several red flag warnings remain in effect through Sunday night for parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.