KTLA

‘Visibility Was Probably Zero’: 2 Found Dead Might’ve Gotten Confused While Fleeing Woolsey Fire in Malibu

Melted metal is all that remains from a vehicle removed from the scene in Malibu where two people likely died in the Woolsey Fire, which erupted on Nov. 8, 2018. (Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The two badly burned bodies found at 33133 Mulholland Highway late Friday afternoon appear to be victims of the fast-moving Woolsey fire, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau Sgt. Guillermo Morales.

“We do not think they were residents of that location; those people have been accounted for,” Morales said. “We think they were trying to evacuate, and we kind of know who they might be, but we’re waiting for the coroner to do the identification.”

The bodies were found in the driver’s and front passenger seats of a charred SUV that had been burned so badly investigators couldn’t see its markings, Morales said. Investigators think the driver got disoriented in the fire and turned in the driveway, thinking it was a roadway, while trying to escape.

“This is not your normal driveway,” Morales said. “It’s probably a half-mile long and windy, so it looks like a small road. They were burned, the house was burned … the whole landscape around there is burned to a crisp. The visibility was probably zero, and we think they were overcome by the flames.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.