Erskine fire rips through Kern County

Bill Johnson found the bodies of neighbors Byron McKaig, 81, and his wife, Gladys, 90, against a corner of their fence. They didn t deserve it, he said.

Garden decor is all that remains of a residence in South Lake.

Charred trees line a street in a fire-ravahed section of South Lake.

An employee of a gas supplier drives through a charred neighborhood in South Lake in search of propane tanks to remove.

A burned truck is framed by a charred car port in South Lake.

A burned-out car is one of the few recognizable items amid the charred debris where Byron and Gladys McKaig s home once stood. The McKaigs are the two confirmed casualties of the worst wildfire so far this year in California.

Resident Dan Mayfield holds onto his daughter’s burned bed frame in the ashes of their home which burned in the Erskine Fire n Squirrel Mountain Valley.

Resident Christina Mayfield,left, is consoled by neighbors Kathy and Jerry McDaniel after her home burned in the Erskine Fire in Squirrel Mountain Valley. The McDaniel’s home also burned a couple blocks away.

Resident Christina Mayfield describes the fire as it came towards her “like a tornado.” She fled with only a photo album.

Tyra Rene Fuller tears up a she finds a porcelain cast of her daughter’s handprint while soring through what’s left of her belongings after her home was destroyed by the Erskine fire in Lake Isabella, Calif.

Tyra Rene Fuller sorts through what’s left of her belongings after her home in Lake Isabella’s South Lake neighborhood was destroyed by the Erskine fire.

Brittany Olivia Thompson and Aquivo Sun embrace each other as they say goodbye to their home after finishing their search through rubble of their burned down home, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.

Brittany Olivia Thompson, from left, recovers Aquivo Sun’s burned antique rifles in the debris of their home which was destroyed by the wildfire, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.

James Hoover of South Lake hung this American flag on his burnt-out property as a symbol of hope for his neighbors. His home of 17 years was destroyed by the Erskine fire.

James Hoover of South Lake, left, is consoled by friend David Keith at the charred ruins of Hoover’s home of 17 years.

Investigators and a cadaver dog from Santa Clarita search through the rubble of a burned home in the Squirrel Mountain Valley.

Power crews work to restore power lines and poles destroyed by the Erskine fire in the South Lake neighborhood.

A frame is all that remains of an RV destroyed by the Erskine fire in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.

A singed page from a flower book lies among the burned rubble of a destroyed home in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.

Firefighters from Bakersfield mop up hot spots on Sunday in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella that was destroyed by wildfire.

A child’s play table sits near the ruins of a home destroyed by the Erskine fire, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.

Firefighters from Bakersfield hose down hot spots left in the ruins of a Lake Isabella neighborhood on Sunday.

Deacon Thomas Hunter begins the service where parishioners prayed in a moment of silence for the elderly couple that was killed in the Erskine fire during church services at St. Peters Anglican Church on June 26, 2016 in Kernville. The elderly couple were parishioners at the small congregation.

Burned rubble is all that remains of the residence at the Erskine fire in Squirrel Mountain Valley.

The Erskine fire burns behind a house east of Lake Isabella on Saturday.

Chris Myers, left, helps a family member recover a family heirloom among the rubble of a home in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella on Saturday.

Kern County coroner personnel carry out human remains found in the burned rubble of a residence off Fiddleneck Street in South Lake.

South Lake residents Sandy Lake, 63, and her son-in-law Chris Myers, 37, try to salvage items from Lake’s mobile home, which burned in the Erskine fire. “I was just devastated,” Lake said.

Carl Conklin of South Lake hopes to find some valuables from his burned home. He said he barely made it out in time Friday.

Entire neighborhoods have been leveled by the Erskine fire.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Sean Traba of Newport Beach fishes on the north side of Lake Isabella as a giant plume from the Erskine fire grows in the background.

The melted and burned frame of an 18-wheeler truck sits on the side of Kelso Valley Road in Weldon.

Information officer Mark Savage briefs Kernville residents at an evacuation center.

A fireman fights to contain the Kern County wildfire.

Buildings are consumed by the Kern County wildfire.

Trees still smolder Saturday morning on a ranch which was destroyed by the Erskine Fire in Weldon.

Properties still smolder Saturday morning after the Erskine Fire in Weldon.

The melted and burned frame of an 18-wheeler truck sits on the side of Kelso Valley Road as the smoke from the Erskine Fire is visible in the background in Weldon.

Rows of burned Joshua tress line the landscape as the head of the Erskine Fire burns in the background Saturday morning in Weldon, Calif.

The sun sets as smoke fills the air looking west toward Lake Isabella.

A car along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella burns during the Esrkine fire Friday.

Lt. Kyle Newton of the Tulare County Fire Department waters down the ashes of a home on Seclusion Road at Wildwood that was destroyed by the Erskine fire.

Debris at a home on McCray Road where two bodies were found after it was destroyed by the Erskine Fire.

A house along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella burns during the Esrkine fire Friday.

Residents Nelson Hernandez and his wife Michelle watch a neighbor’s house burn along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella during the Esrkine fire Friday.

Residents Sal Blanco, left, and Nelson Hernandez watch a neighbor’s house burn along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella during the Esrkine fire Friday.

Alex Thurman, 20, wanders along South Kelso Valley Road, checking on neighboring homes as they are engulfed in flames, in Weldon, Calif.

A trailer is engulfed by flames, on South Kelso Valley Road, in Weldon, Calif.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Fire engulfs homes along South Kelso Valley Road, in Weldon, Calif., on June 24, 2016.

Lt. Kyle Newton from Tulare County Fire waters down smoke rising from a home on Seclusion Road that was destroyed by flames in the Erskine Fire.

The wildfire still rages on in the mountains after it tore through a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.

Robert Larsen, a fire evacuee, takes a nap at Kernville Elementary School.

Fire burns in the mountains far behind a home on Sagebrush Road destroyed in the Erskine Fire.

Louis Reyes comforts his wife Kimberly Tieche outside of Kernville Elementary School after hearing that their house had burned down in the Erskine Fire.

The wildfire still rages on in the mountains after it tore through a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.

The aftermath of a wildfire destroying a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.

Fire burns in the mountains far behind a home on Sagebrush Road destroyed in the Erskine Fire.

Susan DeFussi, is comforted by her partner, Mike Cargill, at the Red Cross evacuation Center in Kernville Friday. DeFussi and Cargill had to run for their lives and lost their home in the Cooks Peak area of Squirrel Valley to the raging Erskine fire.

Evacuee Jan Ryan looks at wounds left from evacuating her dogs as she joins other evacuees at the Red Cross evacuation Center in Kernville Friday.

The aftermath of the Erskine fire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.

Still smoldering, smoke rises from a destroyed stucture after the Erskine fire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.

The aftermath of the Erskine Wildfire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.

Firefighters from Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit pay close attention to a wildfire moving in from every direction in Kelso Valley as the blaze progresses east with the winds near Lake Isabella, Calif.

A charred landscape is left after the Erskine fire tore through the Squirrel Mountain neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif., on Friday, June 24.

A Kern County firefighter tries to extinguish as much flame as possible inside a burning tree trunk as strong winds blow through Squirrel Mountain Valley, in Lake Isabella, Calif.

The Black Eagles fire crew from Porterville lights a backfire in Lake Isabella, Calif.

A wildfire engulfs the mountains above Lake Isabella, Calif.

The remains of a car smolder after the Erskine fire rages by Lake Isabella in Kern County.

Engine 74 firefighter Adam Lind, 24, watches as the Erskine fire rages by Lake Isabella.

The Erskine fire rages in the mountains in Kern County.

A Kern County firefighter monitors the blaze as it creeps near a Lake Isabella neighborhood.

Don Erwin, left, and Jim Griffin take a break as they help create a fire break outside their neighbor’s home in Lake Isabella.

A home is destroyed by wildfire in Lake Isabella.

A firefighter controls the flames before they reach homes in Lake Isabella.

A home is destroyed by wildfire in Lake Isabella on Thursday.