Skeletal remains found in mountains during wildfire evacuations, California cops say
As deputies patrolled a mountain area closed off due to a raging wildfire, they stumbled on human skeletal remains, a sheriff’s department says.
Deputies found the bones, which were later determined to be human, in the area of Highway 330 in Running Springs just before 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The area was under evacuation orders at the time, as the Line Fire, which started nine days earlier, spread in the area, according to CalFire.
The county coroner collected the remains and is working to identify the person, as well as a cause of death, deputies said.
Deputies said it appears the bones had been in the area “for an extended period of time,” adding that they do not believe the person’s “death is related to the fire.”
An investigation is ongoing, according to deputies.
Running Springs is about an 80-mile drive northeast from Los Angeles.
Line Fire
The Line Fire, which threatens more than 36,000 structures in San Bernardino County, has burned nearly 40,000 acres and is 42% contained as of Sept. 16, CalFire reports.
So far, the Line Fire has destroyed one structure and damaged four more, CalFire says.
Three fighters have been injured battling the blaze, the agency says.
A 34-year-old Norco man was arrested on Sept. 10 after he was accused of starting the fire in Highland on Sept. 5, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Through investigation, officials believe the man tried “multiple times within an hour to ignite a fire,” the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said in a Sept. 12 news release.
The man is facing a slew of charges, including aggravated arson and arson of forest land, prosecutors said.
Additional charges against the man may be forthcoming, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Skeletal remains found in mountains during wildfire evacuations, California cops say."
