Sallie Keeling had seen enough photos of destruction over four days to know what to expect when she returned Monday to the fire-ravaged neighborhood where she and her husband had lived for 13 years.
"There's nothing," she said, covered in soot after digging through the rubble. "Just ashes." Keeling, 71, surveyed the devastated South Lake near Lake Isabella as evacuation orders were lifted in some nearby communities that suffered less damage from the wildfire that killed two people and destroyed 200 homes in the southern Sierra Nevada.
The fire grew to more than 70 square miles, but was it 40 percent contained as it burned in steep terrain south of Lake Isabella. Houses could be vulnerable if winds blow the fire back toward some of the communities in the popular recreation area, Fire Chief Brian Marshall said.
"There's still more threats out there," Marshall said. "This is going to go down as the most destructive wildfire in Kern County history."
Cadaver dogs searched through the rubble of devastated neighborhoods for more possible casualties, though remains found over the weekend were identified as an animal, Kern County sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said.