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SHASTA COUNTY—

Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies discovered the burnt body of 56-year-old Brian Henry, as they checked the areas decimated by the fire.

“Our hearts go out to his family,” said Sheriff Tom Bosenko.

The blackened ground shows how intense the fire burned. The yellow sheriff’s tape closes off the home where Brian Henry lived and died.

Henry’s home along coal pit road was among hundreds evacuated.

“He did have orders to evacuation. He chose not to,” Bosenko said.

Deputies were checking the welfare of residents, something considered routine, when they discovered Henry’s body.

Frank Griffith and his wife Kay were among dozens of concerned residents who gathered at a community meeting tonight, to learn the latest on their homes.

They counted their blessings.

“The sheriff’s come by and say, ‘Evacuate now!’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’m getting in the car,’” Frank said.

But not everyone was as compliant despite the mandatory evacuations.

Residents will be allowed back in their homes tomorrow, Cal Fire says.