MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Relief and heartache await those starting to return home to a Southern California wildlife zone.
Eager to know the status of his house, 69-year-old Roger Kelly defied evacuation orders Sunday and hiked back into his lakeside mobile home community in the mountains north of Malibu.
He got the thrill of finding his house intact, but dozens of others had been reduced to ash in the community where he’d lived for 28 years, and he wept at the sight.
A new round of winds brought only flare-ups Sunday, leaving hopes that many more would return to find their homes still there.
The blaze has destroyed at least 177 houses and left two people dead.