Coming a day after Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Siskiyou County, a person has died as a result of the Klamathon Fire, Cal Fire announced Friday morning. Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey told the Redding Record Searchlight that the decedent was discovered inside a burned structure. Investigators are working to determine the person’s cause of death and are waiting to release their identity until next of kin can be notified. 

The cause of fire is still under investigation, Lopey said. 

The fast-moving Klamathon Fire has grown to over 8,000 acres with only 5 percent containment as of Friday morning and has forced numerous people who live along I-5 between Ashland and Yreka to evacuate. Around a dozen structures near the unincorporated town of Hornbrook have been destroyed. Evacuation shelters have opened at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds and Jackson Street School. 

Caltrans opted to close sections of I-5 Thursday but the highway had reopened by Friday mid-morning. 

Additional information on Cal Fire’s website.