Body found in California home burned by wildfire believed started by chain saw

SAN ANDREAS, Calif. (AP) — A dead body was found inside a central California home burned by a wildfire that investigators believe was accidentally started by sparks from a chain saw, authorities said Thursday.

Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the blaze that has destroyed seven structures and scorched more than 15 square miles (39 square km) of forest in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Calaveras County.

Smith is suspected of “recklessly causing" the blaze on Monday while “operating equipment capable of producing sparks” without clearing flammable vegetation as required, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Prosecutors will determine whether to file criminal charges.

An apologetic Smith told KCRA-TV that he was using a chain saw to cut some scrap wood when it ignited.

“I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened,” Smith told the news station. “This is going to destroy my life, one way or another."

Investigators will determine whether the fire contributed to the death of the person found in a burned home near the town of Angels Camp, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office said.

In eastern Washington state, three major fires continued to burn around the city of Spokane. Officials said Thursday that cooler temperatures and calmer winds have allowed firefighters to make progress against the blazes. No deaths have been reported, though at least 800 buildings have been destroyed.

Flames consume vegetation as the Gann Fire burns near Copperopolis on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Calaveras County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Gann Fire burns along a hillside near Copperopolis on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Calaveras County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Gann Fire burns along a hillside near Copperopolis on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Calaveras County, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is once more trying to limit the number of people who are born in the country who can become American citizens, in a sign that even after his first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he's ready to try again.

The president said he was signing two executive actions on immigration.

He said one will limit the number of people eligible for U.S. citizenship after being born in the United States.

A second order seeks to curb what Trump called “birth tourism” by increasing restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country.

Additional details weren’t provided, but Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional.

In June, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s previous efforts to declare that children born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren’t American citizens, and upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship.

On Trump’s first day in office of his second term, he signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which allows anyone born in the United States to automatically become an American citizen.

Trump’s administration was immediately sued by opponents who said the executive order went against the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, which makes anyone born in the country a citizen, with very limited exceptions.

The executive order was blocked by several lower courts and never took effect.

In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote. But the vote was too close for many immigration advocates and legal observers who felt the legal question of birthright citizenship was a long-settled issue.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)