Reporting from Lake Isabella, Calif. — Bill Johnson always knew he was getting close to home when he saw the distinctive red barn-style house from across Lake Isabella.
The two-story home belonged to Byron McKaig, 81, an Anglican priest, and his 90-year-old wife, Gladys.
On Friday morning, after the Erskine fire tore through the area, Johnson ventured into a neighbor’s yard, and from there, spotted the couple’s two cars next to the burning stubs of their home.
“They didn’t get out,” Johnson thought. Then he spotted the McKaigs lying against a corner of their fence, a tree near their bodies smoldering like their house.
Their clothes did not appear to have been touched by flames. Johnson said Byron looked like he died trying to protect his wife.
“He was like on top of her, and they were together, like he was blocking her from the fire,” Johnson said. “It made me sick because immediately I saw and knew exactly what had happened — that they were alive and ran out of this burning inferno and got stuck, and that was where they ended. I thought it was terrible for those people to go like that. Just horrible. They didn’t deserve it.”
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A religious icon stands in the charred remains of a neighborhood in South Lake.
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Bill Johnson found the bodies of neighbors Byron McKaig, 81, and his wife, Gladys, 90, against a corner of their fence. They didn t deserve it, he said.
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Garden decor is all that remains of a residence in South Lake.
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Charred trees line a street in a fire-ravahed section of South Lake.
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An employee of a gas supplier drives through a charred neighborhood in South Lake in search of propane tanks to remove.
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A burned truck is framed by a charred car port in South Lake.
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A burned-out car is one of the few recognizable items amid the charred debris where Byron and Gladys McKaig s home once stood. The McKaigs are the two confirmed casualties of the worst wildfire so far this year in California.
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Resident Dan Mayfield holds onto his daughter’s burned bed frame in the ashes of their home which burned in the Erskine Fire n Squirrel Mountain Valley.
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Resident Christina Mayfield,left, is consoled by neighbors Kathy and Jerry McDaniel after her home burned in the Erskine Fire in Squirrel Mountain Valley. The McDaniel’s home also burned a couple blocks away.
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Resident Christina Mayfield describes the fire as it came towards her “like a tornado.” She fled with only a photo album.
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Tyra Rene Fuller tears up a she finds a porcelain cast of her daughter’s handprint while soring through what’s left of her belongings after her home was destroyed by the Erskine fire in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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Tyra Rene Fuller sorts through what’s left of her belongings after her home in Lake Isabella’s South Lake neighborhood was destroyed by the Erskine fire.
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Brittany Olivia Thompson and Aquivo Sun embrace each other as they say goodbye to their home after finishing their search through rubble of their burned down home, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.
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Brittany Olivia Thompson, from left, recovers Aquivo Sun’s burned antique rifles in the debris of their home which was destroyed by the wildfire, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.
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James Hoover of South Lake hung this American flag on his burnt-out property as a symbol of hope for his neighbors. His home of 17 years was destroyed by the Erskine fire.
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James Hoover of South Lake, left, is consoled by friend David Keith at the charred ruins of Hoover’s home of 17 years.
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Investigators and a cadaver dog from Santa Clarita search through the rubble of a burned home in the Squirrel Mountain Valley.
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Power crews work to restore power lines and poles destroyed by the Erskine fire in the South Lake neighborhood.
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A frame is all that remains of an RV destroyed by the Erskine fire in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.
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A singed page from a flower book lies among the burned rubble of a destroyed home in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.
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Firefighters from Bakersfield mop up hot spots on Sunday in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella that was destroyed by wildfire.
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A child’s play table sits near the ruins of a home destroyed by the Erskine fire, in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella.
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Firefighters from Bakersfield hose down hot spots left in the ruins of a Lake Isabella neighborhood on Sunday.
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Deacon Thomas Hunter begins the service where parishioners prayed in a moment of silence for the elderly couple that was killed in the Erskine fire during church services at St. Peters Anglican Church on June 26, 2016 in Kernville. The elderly couple were parishioners at the small congregation.
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Burned rubble is all that remains of the residence at the Erskine fire in Squirrel Mountain Valley.
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The Erskine fire burns behind a house east of Lake Isabella on Saturday.
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Chris Myers, left, helps a family member recover a family heirloom among the rubble of a home in the South Lake neighborhood of Lake Isabella on Saturday.
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Kern County coroner personnel carry out human remains found in the burned rubble of a residence off Fiddleneck Street in South Lake.
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South Lake residents Sandy Lake, 63, and her son-in-law Chris Myers, 37, try to salvage items from Lake’s mobile home, which burned in the Erskine fire. “I was just devastated,” Lake said.
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Carl Conklin of South Lake hopes to find some valuables from his burned home. He said he barely made it out in time Friday.
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Entire neighborhoods have been leveled by the Erskine fire. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Sean Traba of Newport Beach fishes on the north side of Lake Isabella as a giant plume from the Erskine fire grows in the background.
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The melted and burned frame of an 18-wheeler truck sits on the side of Kelso Valley Road in Weldon.
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Information officer Mark Savage briefs Kernville residents at an evacuation center.
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A fireman fights to contain the Kern County wildfire.
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Buildings are consumed by the Kern County wildfire.
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Trees still smolder Saturday morning on a ranch which was destroyed by the Erskine Fire in Weldon.
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Properties still smolder Saturday morning after the Erskine Fire in Weldon.
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The melted and burned frame of an 18-wheeler truck sits on the side of Kelso Valley Road as the smoke from the Erskine Fire is visible in the background in Weldon.
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Rows of burned Joshua tress line the landscape as the head of the Erskine Fire burns in the background Saturday morning in Weldon, Calif.
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The sun sets as smoke fills the air looking west toward Lake Isabella.
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A car along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella burns during the Esrkine fire Friday.
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Lt. Kyle Newton of the Tulare County Fire Department waters down the ashes of a home on Seclusion Road at Wildwood that was destroyed by the Erskine fire.
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Debris at a home on McCray Road where two bodies were found after it was destroyed by the Erskine Fire.
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A house along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella burns during the Esrkine fire Friday.
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Residents Nelson Hernandez and his wife Michelle watch a neighbor’s house burn along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella during the Esrkine fire Friday.
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Residents Sal Blanco, left, and Nelson Hernandez watch a neighbor’s house burn along Kelso Valley Road east of Lake Isabella during the Esrkine fire Friday.
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Alex Thurman, 20, wanders along South Kelso Valley Road, checking on neighboring homes as they are engulfed in flames, in Weldon, Calif.
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A trailer is engulfed by flames, on South Kelso Valley Road, in Weldon, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Fire engulfs homes along South Kelso Valley Road, in Weldon, Calif., on June 24, 2016.
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Lt. Kyle Newton from Tulare County Fire waters down smoke rising from a home on Seclusion Road that was destroyed by flames in the Erskine Fire.
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The wildfire still rages on in the mountains after it tore through a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.
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Robert Larsen, a fire evacuee, takes a nap at Kernville Elementary School.
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Fire burns in the mountains far behind a home on Sagebrush Road destroyed in the Erskine Fire.
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Louis Reyes comforts his wife Kimberly Tieche outside of Kernville Elementary School after hearing that their house had burned down in the Erskine Fire.
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The wildfire still rages on in the mountains after it tore through a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.
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The aftermath of a wildfire destroying a South Lake neighborhood in Lake Isabella.
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Fire burns in the mountains far behind a home on Sagebrush Road destroyed in the Erskine Fire.
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Susan DeFussi, is comforted by her partner, Mike Cargill, at the Red Cross evacuation Center in Kernville Friday. DeFussi and Cargill had to run for their lives and lost their home in the Cooks Peak area of Squirrel Valley to the raging Erskine fire.
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Evacuee Jan Ryan looks at wounds left from evacuating her dogs as she joins other evacuees at the Red Cross evacuation Center in Kernville Friday.
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The aftermath of the Erskine fire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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Still smoldering, smoke rises from a destroyed stucture after the Erskine fire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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The aftermath of the Erskine Wildfire after it tore through the Squirrel Mountain Valley neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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Firefighters from Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit pay close attention to a wildfire moving in from every direction in Kelso Valley as the blaze progresses east with the winds near Lake Isabella, Calif.
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A charred landscape is left after the Erskine fire tore through the Squirrel Mountain neighborhood in Lake Isabella, Calif., on Friday, June 24.
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A Kern County firefighter tries to extinguish as much flame as possible inside a burning tree trunk as strong winds blow through Squirrel Mountain Valley, in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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The Black Eagles fire crew from Porterville lights a backfire in Lake Isabella, Calif.
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A wildfire engulfs the mountains above Lake Isabella, Calif.
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The remains of a car smolder after the Erskine fire rages by Lake Isabella in Kern County.
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Engine 74 firefighter Adam Lind, 24, watches as the Erskine fire rages by Lake Isabella.
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The Erskine fire rages in the mountains in Kern County.
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A Kern County firefighter monitors the blaze as it creeps near a Lake Isabella neighborhood.
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Don Erwin, left, and Jim Griffin take a break as they help create a fire break outside their neighbor’s home in Lake Isabella.
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A home is destroyed by wildfire in Lake Isabella.
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A firefighter controls the flames before they reach homes in Lake Isabella.
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A home is destroyed by wildfire in Lake Isabella on Thursday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The McKaigs are the two confirmed casualties of the worst wildfire so far this year in California. The blaze has burned more than 46,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 structures. Many residents ran for their lives as the fire raced toward them, but the McKaigs could not escape.
The fire all but wiped out the community of South Lake, where the majority of residents are retirees living on fixed incomes. Many lived alone.
Officials have long said this population was especially vulnerable when fast-moving fires move in.
Last September, a monster fire in Lake County killed four people, at least three of whom were elderly people who could not escape. Others who did survive arrived at shelters in wheelchairs and using oxygen tanks.
Around Lake Isabella, many wondered whether the elderly victims there could rebuild their lives.
Louis Reyes, 59, moved to South Lake to care for his 95-year-old mother. To him, South Lake always felt more like a retirement community. After the fire broke out, Reyes’ brother helped evacuate neighbors who didn’t have cars — driving up and down Goat Ranch Road several times until the flames and smoke became too much to bear.
The home Reyes shared with his mother and wife burned down. He said he would like to buy the land from the owner.
“It was a beautiful mobile home with a built-in porch and big yard,” he said. “We’ll have to rebuild it ourselves. We’re not going anywhere.”
On Tuesday, an acrid, burning smell hung in the air outside the foundation of the McKaig’s home. Ash littered the ground, and the trees on the property were blackened like used-up matches.
In the ruins Johnson could make out a desk, a freezer and a washing machine. Other items were so twisted and warped by the fire that they were difficult to identify.
Johnson said he remembered how Gladys used to drive around in an old pickup, her red hair tucked under a bonnet.
“She was just a sophisticated lady,” he said. “She was like a tough country woman.”
He recalled that when singer John Denver died in 1997, Byron McKaig played his music loudly and belted out songs like “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
“Gladys’ house — I don’t know if her daughter will want to rebuild,” he said. “It’ll probably be an empty lot now, so it’ll be a big hole in our community. … You always expect to see Gladys’ home sticking out. You’d always see it.”
Geralin Montgomery lived across from the McKaigs for nine years. She didn’t know them well, though she said “they were very, very, very religious.”
Montgomery said Gladys would pass out religious pamphlets and used to often play the organ.
“The whole neighborhood could hear,” Montgomery said.
Ray Conner lives along McCray Road, where the McKaigs also lived.
“They never went anywhere without each other,” Conner said. “And that’s the best way I’m going to describe them. They were just together all the time. Through it all, they were together.”
On Friday morning, Conner and his wife had taken a drive to check on a friend’s home, when his wife wondered aloud if the couple had made it out.
When news came out about bodies being found, they were sure it was the McKaigs.
South Lake resident Lisa Blair searches through the rubble with her boyfriend Joshua Wood after it was burned down in the Erskine Fire.
“We knew right away who it was because we knew the location of the house,” Conner said.
Though he lamented their deaths, he said he was relieved there wasn’t a greater loss, considering how quickly the fire moved.
“It’s a miracle more people didn’t lose their lives,” he said.
“Knowing that a lot of my friends have lost their homes and lost everything, you don’t know where to begin,” he said. “The one thing I can say about the Kern River Valley is that we came together as a community to help everybody we possibly could.”
The couple would visit Nelda’s Diner in Lake Isabella a couple of times a week, choosing a booth on the right side near the windows facing out on Lake Isabella Boulevard.
They would stay for a couple of hours, enjoying cups of coffee and conversation.
“They were really nice people,” said waitress Suz Humphers. “Been coming here for years.”
Humphers said the McKaig’s got around slowly. When Gladys would get her food, and it was arranged to her taste she would exclaim: “Oh this is just lovely,” Humphers recalled with a smile.
Frank Brassell, who co-owns the diner with his wife, called Byron a “sharp guy” and said Gladys was very proud that Byron had studied at a seminary and was an ordained minister.
“He was devoted to her,” Brassell said. He said he wouldn’t have been surprised if Byron had tried to protect Gladys from the fire.
“He would have stayed past the last minute in order to save her,” Brassell said. “I know he would have.”
Mejia reported from Lake Isabella and Fernandez from Los Angeles.
brittny.mejia@latimes.com | Twitter: @brittny_mejia
alexia.fernandez@latimes.com | Twitter: @alexiafedz
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UPDATES:
5:10 p.m.: This post was updated with details about last year’s Lake fire.
3:11 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from a fire official.
2:07 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from the co-owner and waitress of a diner.
1:40 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from neighbors.
This story was originally posted at 1:01 p.m.
