UPDATE: Woman, 73, Killed In Portola Fire
PORTOLA (CBS13) — The remains of a 73-year-old woman were found Wednesday after a fire broke out in a mobile home overnight in the mountain town of Portola in Plumas County.
Positive identification is still pending forensic testing, but the remains are believed to be those of Donna Richardson. She was one of eight people in the home when the fire started shortly after midnight in a double-wide modular home at 417 West Plumas Avenue. The other family members, Todd Barclay, 41, Carla Barclay, 42, and the Barclay's five children ranging in age from 7 to 17, all were able to get out of the home.
The fire started in the home's laundry room, according to a press release from the Plumas County Sheriff's Office. The cause is being investigated.
Richardson was not located in the immediate aftermath of the fire, but investigators found her remains on Wednesday at about 11:20 a.m. All seven of the other victims received medical care at the scene and were transported to Eastern Plumas District Hospital. Six of the victims suffered moderate burns. One was listed as critical. Six were flown out to Renown Medical Center in Reno and the seventh was released to a family member.
Members of the Portola Volunteer Fire Department, Eastern Plumas Rural Fire Services, Beckwourth Volunteer Fire Department, Graeagle Volunteer Fire Department, Plumas Eureka Volunteer Fire Department and Sierra Valley Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire, which spread to two neighboring modular homes, one of which was vacant. The occupants of the other residence escaped without injury. All three of the modular homes suffered extreme damage and are uninhabitable.
Cal Fire and Plumas County Sheriff's Office will continue the investigation to determine the cause of the fire.