A 19-year-old man in California allegedly murdered an Orange County couple he owed $80,000 to — executing them separately in the desert with gunshots — before burning their bodies and Teslas to hide the evidence, prosecutors say.

Huangting Gong, of Glendale, is accused of driving around with the victims’ bodies in their Teslas as he killed them both in order last month, starting first with Kuanlun Wang, 37, before setting his deadly sights on Wang’s wife, Jing Li, also 37.

Wang had agreed to meet with Gong at an undisclosed location in the Southern California desert on Oct. 12, according to an Orange County District Attorney’s Office press release and his criminal complaint. Prosecutors believe the two men were discussing what Wang owed when Gong allegedly shot him in the head.

ALTURAS, Calif. – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management Applegate Field Office will conduct prescribed burns to reduce hazardous fuels in northeast California and northwest Nevada beginning in early October. Projects will occur only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.

“The prescribed burns will help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. They will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Dereck Wilson, Northern California District Manager. “These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands.” 

The first project, set for approximately Oct. 10, will be a broadcast burns on about 800 acres of BLM-managed public lands along the Hogback Ridge, south of Fall River Mills. Smoke will be visible throughout the Burney Basin, Big Valley, and to motorists on State Route 299.  

Additionally, prescribed pile burns will be implemented through the late fall, winter and spring, when adequate moisture is present. These projects will occur in Modoc County, northern Washoe County, northeastern Lassen County, and eastern Siskiyou County. Each project will be announced in advance. Northeast California prescribed pile burns are as follows:

• Modoc Gulch, 4 miles southeast of Dorris: 850 acres of piled juniper
• Vya, Nev. projects, 20 miles northeast of Fort Bidwell: 3,600 acres of piled juniper
• Twin Lakes, 18 miles southeast of Cedarville: 700 acres of piled juniper
• Rygrass Swale, 9 miles south of Alturas: 500 acres of piled juniper
• XL, 3 miles northeast of Alturas: 30 acres of piled juniper
• Dry Cow, 5 miles east of Madeline: 250 acres of piled juniper
• Nelson Corral, 6 miles northwest of Madeline: 50 acres of piled juniper

These piles of brush, tree limbs and small trees are from projects to reduce hazardous fuels that could feed wildfires.

SUSANVILLE, Calif.  – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management Eagle Lake Field Office will conduct prescribed burns north of Eagle Lake, in Lassen County, Calif., beginning with the Bald Understory Project the week of Oct.16. Prescribed burns help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. Projects will occur only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.

The Bald Understory Project will consist of a series of burns in a 4,000-acre project area. The first prescribed burn in the series will be a carefully managed broadcast burn of 150 to 300 acres on BLM-managed public lands just west of the Grasshopper area, along State Route 139. Smoke will be visible from the vicinity of Eagle Lake and to motorists along the route 139 and US Highway 395.

“The prescribed burns will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Emily Ryan, manager of the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office in Susanville. “These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and help protect communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands. The project will also improve wildlife habitat and livestock grazing conditions.”

Crews will complete a series of small, strategically located burns ahead of larger broadcast burns designed to treat the entire project area, explained Eagle Lake Field Office Fire Management Officer Grant Gifford. The BLM conducts prescribed burns conforming to plans that specify allowable weather and fuel conditions, and the personnel and equipment required.