NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Firefighters put out hot spots on Friday morning at a mobile home park called Rancho Monserate Country Club. (EDUARDO CONTRERAS/TNS)
The first fatality of the California wildfires was a 70-year-old woman who crashed during evacuations from the raging blazes.
Virginia Pesola was identified Friday as the first victim of the Thomas Fire, the largest of several fires now burning through the Los Angeles area with little containment.
The medical examiner in Ventura County said that she had died from smoke inhalation and blunt force trauma.
Firefighters battling the blaze that began earlier this week made some progress and had reached 10% containment by Saturday morning, though the flames had stretched to an estimated 143,000 acres.
Other fires, the Skirball, Rye and Creek fires, had threatened areas closer to central Los Angeles but were more than 50% contained by Saturday.
A hillside glows with embers as a wildfire burns through Los Padres National Forest near Ojai, Calif.(NOAH BERGER/AP)
The battle against the blazes had been hampered during the second half of the week by strong Santa Ana Winds that reached hurricane force, though a National Weather Service forecast said gusts were only expected to reach 25 mph on Saturday.
Hundreds of structures were destroyed as dry conditions and wind helped the fires spread rapidly, and it is unknown if more casualties will be discovered.
Beyond the death of Pesola, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that at least 35 horses had died in the Lilac Fire came down upon a thoroughbred training center in Bonsall, Calif.
Facebook Live videos from Leo Tapia show that other horses were cut loose by their trainers as they rushed to evacuate.
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