Evacuated California residents make cautious return home as deadly wildfires keep raging

Thousands of people forced to flee their homes in California have begun returning as crews continue to tackle devastating wildfires.

The wildfires have killed at least seven people, scorched more than 1.2 million acres of land and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and structures.

Cooler weather and higher humidity, along with an influx of equipment and firefighters, aided the hard-pressed crews fighting some of the largest fires in recent state history, which continue to burn in the San Francisco Bay area.

Officials allowed some residents to reunite with their belongings, while plans are underway to repopulate other evacuated areas.

"We've had a lot of good success," said Mark Brunton, a state fire official battling a blaze in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, south of San Francisco.

But in the Santa Cruz area, officials pleaded for information on the whereabouts of Shane Smith, 21, and Micah Szoke, 37, to call the sheriff's department. Both men live in evacuation zones and were reported missing.

Solano County, north of San Francisco, began allowing people back home on Thursday.

In the heart of wine country, evacuation orders in Napa and Sonoma counties were lifted Wednesday for about 35,000 people who had been told to leave after lightning ignited dozens of blazes last week.

However, the fire in Yolo County jumped a highway and threatened homes near the community of Rumsey, prompting new evacuations Wednesday.

That fire, the site of five of the deaths, still threatened 30,500 homes and other buildings after destroying more than 1,000.

Meanwhile, many across northern California have been left homeless as the flames ravaged their homes.

Two of the dead were identified as Douglas Mai, 82, and Leon Bone, 64, both of Vacaville. They died on August 19.

Bone was nearly blind, couldn't drive and didn't have a phone, family members told KNTV-TV. "He was probably taken by complete surprise," said his cousin, Daniel Bone.

Bone had lived on the property his entire life and refused to move when his parents died, his cousin said.

"He was happy there and that's the only place he wanted to be," he said.

To the south, the fire in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties was 35% contained.

The massive fires — coming months earlier in the season than expected — have already burned more than 2,000 square miles (5,200 square kilometers) and pushed firefighters to the breaking point, prompting some residents to form crews and fight them on their own.

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