Deadly Valley Fire's Growth Slows In Cooler Conditions, Containment Rises To 10 Percent

LAKE COUNTY (CBS13) — One person has died and several others are unaccounted for in the massive Valley Fire that exploded over the weekend.

The fast-moving fire claimed the life of an elderly woman inside her home. She has yet to be identified.

So far, the fire has blackened 62,000 acres since it started on Monday and crews only have it 10 percent contained.

"Eventually the fire got into the Middletown area, and my wife told me they're leaving, and I'm hearing people's houses are being burned, and I figured mine is going to be gone," said Middletown firefighter Don Lopez.

But his home was spared, surrounded by devastation. He has no idea why it was spared—his daughter was not so lucky. Overwhelmed with emotion, he says he'll continue to fight.

"I'm in shock, but I'm a fireman," he said. "What do you do? You have to keep working. I talked to my wife last night, and she said 'What are we going to do? There's no reason for you to not keep working.' So that's what I'm doing."

There's still an overwhelming amount of work ahead as the fire is only 10 percent contained. Monday brought relief and cooler temperatures and even some rain—but it also brought wind gusts that could hamper firefighter efforts.