Update: Victim Identified In Fatal Fire At Walnut Creek Home

A 62-year-old man was killed in a two-alarm fire at a home in western Walnut Creek on Friday evening.

The victim was identified on Saturday morning by Contra Costa County coroner's officials as Charles MacDonald.

Contra Costa Sheriff's Sgt. Xavier Shabazz said the cause of the death won't be known until an autopsy is performed on Monday.

The Friday evening blaze erupted about 9:30 p.m. inside a two-story gray home on Hilltop Crescent.

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Prevention Capt. Robert Marshall said it took firefighters about a half-hour to extinguish the flames.

Marshall said the second floor of the home was "severely damaged."

On Saturday morning, Marshall said it would probably be several more days before investigators know exactly what caused the fire.

He said the blaze appears to have started in a bedroom on the second floor, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

MacDonald's body was found on that second floor. Authorities said a Contra Costa Sheriff's deputy tried to reach the second floor during the fire, but the smoke and flames were too strong.

A woman who was inside the home when the fire started escaped without injury, said Marshall.

Tia Riebling, a former neighbor, said MacDonald and his wife, Annie, are loving, caring people who from time to time took in dogs as well as people who had no place else to live.

She said she's in shock over MacDonald's death.

"I'm beside myself," said Riebling. "I can't believe he's gone."