Cadaver Dogs Search for Missing Residents in Valley Fire

Photos by Al Francis, NapaSonomaPhotos.com (See more photos below)

Written by Bea Karnes, Patch
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Cadaver dogs have been brought in to search for four people still missing in the Valley Fire burn zone. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is looking for three men and one woman. The car of one of the men, retired newspaper reporter Leonard Neft, was found Tuesday along an evacuation route, but he has not been found. The names and last known locations of the other missing people have not been released.

Cooler temperatures and pouring rain helped firefighters on Wednesday. The fire increased slightly overnight and has now consumed 73,700 acres and is 35 percent contained.

Law enforcement officers have now arrested two suspected looters. Both were impersonating law officers, according sources. Police and sheriff’s deputies from multiple agencies continue to patrol the fire area in an attempt to keep out looters.

While police continue to escort evacuated residents to their homes to retrieve pets and tend to livestock, there is no estimate of when people will be allowed back into their homes.

The White House announced that President Barack Obama called Gov. Jerry Brown and pledged continued support from the federal government. A FEMA grant that will cover 75 percent of firefighting costs was announced earlier this week.

A warming trend will begin today, with temperatures soaring into the 90s this weekend--the same conditions as last weekend when the fire sparked.

Earlier fire coverage:

• Valley Fire Already the 9th Most Destructive in California History
• Valley Fire Increases to 70,000 Acres, Still 30 Percent Contained
• Valley Fire at 67,200 Acres, 30 Percent Contained
• Pets and Livestock Being Rescued From Valley Fire Evacuation Area
• Wildfire Victim Was Disabled; Containment Doubles in One Day
• Highway Through Hell: Video Shows Driver’s Escape from Valley Fire Inferno
• One Dead as Valley Fire Explodes to 61,000 Acres, 5 Percent Containment
• Elderly, Disabled Woman Trapped in Home, Died in Valley Fire
• FEMA Grant to Cover Valley Firefighting Costs
• Evacuated Fire Victims Settling into Tent City
• One Person Killed in Valley Fire; 50,000 Acres Burned; Hundreds of Homes Lost
• Exhaustion, Desperation, Humor at Calistoga Evacuation Center
• “Huge Destruction. Homes Destroyed Will Be in Hundreds”
• Valley Fire Roars Through 40,000 Acres in 12 Hours