the hillsides, ravaging homes, 72- year-old barbara mcwilliams was trapped. she lived in the western outskirts of middletown in an area called anderson springs and officials say the disabled retired schoolteacher wasn't able to join the 20,000 evacuees as they raced the flames to safety. and the devastation continues this morning for the hundreds of families that have lost their homes. cal fire says the damage is now close to 600 homes lost and thousands more threatened by this fast growing fire. one resident tells us most of the homes in his neighborhood were wiped out. >> there was 200 -- i probably -- what i could see maybe 20? i don't know. or less. >> if i would have came back and my house would have been like over here, it would be heart-breaking just unbelievable heart-breaking. >> reporter: on the front lines firefighters got a little bit of relief. skies cleared up just enough for air support to drop water from above. firefighters on the ground exhausted but persistent were digging in as flames from the valley fire continued to roll down the hillside. now we are learning fro

sleeping and never had a chance to get out. and the third victim, 72-year- old barbara mcwilliams died saturday. she was a disabled woman with multiple sclerosis and was trapped inside her house. >>> tonight, there is a sign of hope in the town of middletown. emily turner shows us the one place keeping its light on for the fire victims. >> reporter: as you can imagine, a town decimated by fire, everything is shut down before dark even except for one place. that is the grocery store which has just reopened and is very necessary for a town trying to rebuild. today, the roll has never been more vital. they just got power on this afternoon. and it has been a mad dash since to get the store ready. they donated tall food that was about to spoil to the community. now they are stocking up on extra generators and hardware they don't usually carry in anticipation of residents' returns. >> we have been itching to do what we can to pick up the pieces. and now that we are up here, hopefully, we can help facility that. this grocery store is important to the people around here. the minute they start

the anderson springs area and on sunday, the body of 72-year- old barbara mcwilliams was found in her burned home near middletown. remains of another victim discovered in the hidden valley area. >> the fire has burned 73,000 acres and is 35% contained today. 585 homes have been destroyed leaving thousands of people without a place to stay. kpix 5's anne makovec joins us live from calistoga where evacuees are reaching exhaustion. anne. >> reporter: yeah. you know, for a while the sheriff's office was allowing people back into their homes if they had one or to check their homes with an escort. that had been going on for the past couple of days. the sheriff's office has stopped that program and they won't say why. it's leaving a lot of people here at the evacuation camp in calistoga wanting to take matters into their own hands. >> i have news for you. you can put it on the media. us middletown boys are going home whether the highway patrol is there or not. >> reporter: dave leery lives in middletown and while much of the community is destroyed -- >> we want to go home! our houses are

72-year- old barbara mcwilliams found dead on saturday a disabled woman with multiple sclerosis and was trapped inside her home. >>> in the sierra foothills, the "butte fire" is now 55% contained. the size of the fire in amador and calaveras counties has remained under 71,000 acres. two people are confirmed dead and 365 homes are destroyed. investigators say the "butte fire" may have been caused by a pg&e power line hitting a tree. >>> people lined the streets of a camp to thank crews battling a fire. firefighters from santa clara county posted this video saying they were humbled. >> the work they do is amazing. i guess the environments they are going to work in over the weekend is not great. >> reporter: we had relief from the rain but the weather pattern is shifting so we'll have a dry offshore flow. not great for firefighting conditions but we are hoping the rain at least will give them a little bit of help dampening the area. let's take a live look outside right now. clear skies for the most part a little bit of patchy fog out there overall temperatures right now out the door 57