ORONDO, Wash. — The Douglas County Coroner’s Office has identified the man found dead in his vehicle as the Chelan Hills wildfire began to spread.
The fire started as a brush fire on US 97 just after midnight on July 4.
The next day, deputies were following up on a missing person report of someone who was in the affected fire area. They found a vehicle that had slid off the roadway that had been consumed by the fire with someone dead inside.
The person inside the vehicle was later identified as 69-year-old Robert Lister of Orondo.
Douglas County Sheriff Tyler Caille told KIRO 7 on July 8 that it appears Lister was trying to escape the fires.
His family has been notified.
Lister’s cause of death was not released.
As of Sept. 2, the fire burned nearly 10,000 acres and forced evacuations of nearby residents.
“The Chelan Hills Fire resulted in significant loss, widespread disruption, and long-term impacts to residents throughout the Chelan Hills and McNeil Canyon areas,” the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a press release.
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