Tag: People

At least two of the people killed in the Southern California wildfires tried to protect the homes where they raised families and lived for decades, while another stayed behind with his son who had cerebral palsy and could not evacuate.

Twenty-nine people are known to have died across the Los Angeles area after destructive wildfires fueled by dry conditions and powerful winds erupted Jan. 7.

Nearly 17,000 structures have been destroyed and roughly tens of thousands people were forced from their homes.

Here is what we know so far about the victims:

Anthony and Justin Mitchell

Anthony Mitchell remembered his father as a “protector” who would do anything for his family. His father, 67, a great-grandfather of 10 who shared his name with his son, died in his Altadena home. Anthony’s younger brother, Justin Mitchell, also died.

Anthony said that his father used a wheelchair after a leg was amputated last year and that he refused to leave Justin, who had cerebral palsy and did not walk.

“He probably could have gotten himself out, but he wasn’t going to leave my brother,” he told NBC News. “He really loved his kids.”

Anthony said he last spoke to his father around 5 a.m. Jan. 8. His father said they were waiting to be evacuated, but about 30 minutes later, his father called another family member and said he could see the fire across the street.

“Everybody is just distraught over what happened,” Anthony said.

Anthony described his father as a leader who cherished his family. He gave each one of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren a nickname and was always willing to lend a helping hand.

“My dad loved his family,” Anthony said. “Me and him had a long conversation, and he said: ‘I want you to know that my kids and my grandkids, my nieces and nephews, you guys are all my legacy. You guys are my treasure.’ He said, ‘Money don’t matter, property don’t matter, my kids and my family are my treasure.’”

Justin enjoyed watching television and having people read to him.

“He was just a real sweet kid,” Anthony said.

Erliene Louise Kelley

Briana Navarro, 33, remembered her grandmother Erliene Louise Kelley as a “sweet” but “stern” woman who knew just about everyone in their neighborhood.

“If I’m out with her, you’re getting stopped, like, four or five times. Everyone knew her. Her generation, my parents’ generation, even all of my friends in high school, they’re all like, ‘She was so sweet,’” Navarro told NBC News.

Navarro said she was at the family’s Altadena home — where she lived with her husband, two daughters and grandmother — when she looked out a window and saw smoke.

“We walk outside, you could just see a red glow,” she recalled. “It didn’t look like anything major.”

The family was not in a rush to leave, but Navarro’s husband wanted to evacuate.

“My husband, he’s not from out here, so he kind of was looking at it a little different than we were,” Navarro said. “We asked [her grandmother] … and she’s like: ‘No, no I’m fine. You guys go ahead.’”

Kelley, 83, who had been through a major wildfire in the past, assumed everything would be fine, her granddaughter said. Police confirmed to Navarro on Thursday night that Kelley died when the fire engulfed the home.

Navarro said she thinks her grandmother was “at peace” staying in the home she “tended to every day” for more than four decades. The family is grappling with the loss.

“My grandmother was really active. … I thought she would be 99, just walking around. We didn’t expect to lose her so tragically, and that’s what hurts the most,” she said.

Victor Shaw

Victor Shaw, 66, was trying to protect his home, which had been in the family for over five decades, when he was killed the night of Jan. 7 in the Eaton Fire, his family said.

His sister, Shari Shaw, told KTLA-TV that they lived together in the home and that as the flames started to engulf the property she tried to get him to leave.

“When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm,” she said. “I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames and I had to leave.”

Shari Shaw declined to be interviewed when NBC News contacted her, saying she needed to focus on funeral arrangements for her brother.

Al Tanner, a family friend, told KTLA that when they went back to the home the morning of Jan. 8, they found Victor’s body on the side of a road with a garden hose in his hand.

“It looks like he was trying to save the home that his parents had had for almost 55 years,” Tanner said.

Rodney Kent Nickerson

Rodney Kent Nickerson, 83, had reassured loved ones that he would be fine as his family and neighbors tried to get him to evacuate his Altadena home, his daughter Kimiko Nickerson told KCAL-TV.

“My son tried to get him to leave, and my neighbors and myself, and he said he’ll be fine — ‘I’ll be here when you guys come back.’ And he said his house would be here,” she said.

Nickerson was outside trying to hose down his property around 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, his daughter said. The last time she talked to him was on FaceTime around 9:30 p.m.

“His house is here, and he was here, too. He was in his bed when I found him. His whole body was there intact,” she told the station.

Kimiko could not immediately be reached at phone numbers listed for her.

Nickerson, who worked for the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin for 45 years as a project engineer manager, had lived in the home since 1968. Kimiko told the station, “I don’t know anywhere else other than here.”

“I’ve been here my whole life,” she said. “Myself and my brother and my son and his other grandchildren, this is where we’ve been our whole life.”

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed Nickerson’s death.

Rory Sykes

Former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died Jan. 8 after, his mother said, she was unable to save him from his burning cottage.

Sykes, 32, who starred in the late-’90s British TV show “Kiddy Kapers,” was living in a cottage on his family’s 17-acre Malibu estate, which flames engulfed Jan. 8.

Shelley Sykes said it burned down in the Palisades Fire when she “couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose” because of a lack of water.

She told Australian outlet 10 News First that she has a broken arm and could not lift or move her son.

“He said, ‘Mom, leave me.’ And no mom could leave their kid,” she said, crying.

Shelley Sykes said that she drove to the local fire department for help but that it told her it had no water. She said that when the fire department took her back, Rory’s “cottage was burnt to the ground.”

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken,” she wrote Thursday on X, calling him “a wonderful son.”

Randall Lawrence Miod

Randy “Craw Daddy” Miod, a well-known Malibu figure, died at his home — which he had lovingly dubbed the “Crab Shack” — in the Palisades Fire, according to his mother.

His mother, Carol Smith, noted that detectives said he was most likely trying to save his house when he succumbed to the smoke and the heat. She said in a written statement that Miod “lived and died in the place he loved the most.”

Smith said the last time she spoke to him was Jan. 7, the day the fires started. He told her he could see the smoke and “sounded like he was on the verge of tears.” Though she pleaded with him to grab his cat and evacuate to a shelter, she said, he refused.

“He said, ‘No, Mom, I don’t trust the fire department, and I have a hose,’” Smith said. “His last words to me that day were ‘Pray for the Palisades and pray for Malibu. I love you.’”

She added that he had been through “so many fires” in the 30 years he resided there and that he most likely did not believe this fire would be much different. But it was.

“He will be remembered for his kindness, his loving spirit, his generosity, his laughter, the encouragement he gave others, for working hard and playing hard,” Smith said. “I don’t think he ever realized how much everyone loved and respected him, for just being Randy, ‘the Craw.’”

Dalyce Curry

Dalyce “Mama Dee” Curry, 95, was killed in the Eaton Fire, her granddaughter said.

Curry’s granddaughter, Dalyce Kelley, was the last person to see her alive and dropped her off at her home the day the wildfire ignited, Kelley told NBC News’ Tom Llamas. When evacuation orders were issued the next day, Curry was not able to make it out, Kelley said.

She said it was possible her grandmother didn’t receive emergency alerts and was unaware of evacuation recommendations and alerts.

“Elderly people, they just don’t get into cellphones,” Kelley said. “Not her.”

Curry was part of old Black Hollywood in the 1950s and appeared as an extra in classic movies like the “Ten Commandments” and “The Blues Brothers,” her granddaughter said.

Kelley said her grandmother was mentored by Madame Sul-Te-Wan, whose real name was Nellie Crawford, said to be the first Black woman under a movie studio contract in the silent film era, according to the Golden Globes.

Kelley said her grandmother loved her Altadena community, and the destruction the wildfire caused would have hurt her deeply.

“She loved Altadena,” she said. “She loved that city. She loved that little cottage.”

Arthur Simoneau

Arthur Simoneau, 69, was a hang-glider pilot for four decades, friends and family told the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office attributed his cause of death to inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injuries.

Simoneau, who died in the Palisades Fire, was returning from a ski trip when he learned of the evacuation orders for his Topanga home in the Santa Monica Mountains, Steve Murillo, a longtime friend and fellow hang-glider pilot, told the news outlet.

“He was heading home to save it if he could,” Murillo said. “Arthur was the kind of guy that once he put his mind to something, you couldn’t really talk him out of stuff.”

Simoneau was found near the doorway of his home, apparently trying to defend it, Murillo said, according to the newspaper.

His neighbor, Susan Dumond, told the paper that everyone in the area knew Simoneau as a neighborhood caretaker. He greeted all his neighbors with a grin and a peace sign and was known to leave a trail of freshly yanked invasive species behind him wherever he went, Dumond said.

“That’s his nature is to protect the community, protect his house. I would imagine that’s what he did,” she said. “He cared about the community a lot, and would do anything to try to help it.”

Charles Mortimer

Charles Mortimer, 84, was killed in the Palisades Fire. His death was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Meredith Mortimer, his niece, said he “truly lived life to its fullest” and was a “world traveler, a sun worshipper, and an avid sports fan.”

“He will be remembered as a man with a quick wit, a brilliant mind, and a love for his family. His infectious smile and never ending sense of humor will be greatly missed by his friends and family all over the world,” she said in a statement.

Kim Winiecki

Kim Winiecki, 77, “enjoyed talking to people” and was “very articulate” and funny, her longtime friend Jeannette McMahon said.

Winiecki became a bit of a recluse after retiring several years ago, but loved going to church activities and meeting up with McMahon and another friend. The trio called themselves the “Three Amigos,” McMahon said in a phone call.

“We just really enjoyed her company because she really came alive,” she said.

McMahon and Winiecki, who had been friends for over 20 years, had dinner on Jan. 6 and then went back to McMahon’s house for cookies and tea.

Less than 48 hours later, Winiecki died when flames engulfed her Altadena home.

McMahon, who lives six minutes from Winiecki, said the area had to evacuate around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, but her friend decided to stay.

“She said, ‘No, I’m OK. I’ll pack up a few things and if I need to, I’ll walk out.’ When I think about it, I just think she couldn’t leave her house,” McMahon said. “I don’t think she was necessarily thinking this is the end, but, ‘How could I leave this? This is my security, this is everything to me.’”

Zhi Feng Zhao

Zhi Feng Zhao, 84, died in Altadena in the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Further information about him was not immediately available.

Annette Rossilli

Annette Rossilli, 85, was “sweet” and “very bubbly,” said Fay Vahdani, the director of Luxe Homecare, a company that provided in-home care to Rossilli.

“We’re heartbroken,” Vahdani said. “We lost a dear patient of ours, and that’s very, very devastating for us.”

Vahdani said they tried several times to get Rossilli to leave her home but she did not want to go because of her pets. Rossilli owns multiple pets including a dog, two parrots, and a canary.

Vahdani said they told Rossilli they would take her pets with them but she still refused.

Rossilli was “beloved by local church members” and was “very beloved in our community,” Vahdani said.

Jeffrey Takeyama

Jeffrey Takeyama, 69, died in the Palisades Fire. His death was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Takeyama was last seen on Jan. 7, the day the fire started, in Malibu, and had been reported missing, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department bulletin.

Carolyn Burns

Carolyn Burns, 56, died in Altadena in the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Burns, who was bedridden and lived in an unincorporated area of Altadena, had been listed as an at-risk missing person in the days after the fire broke out, according to a sheriff’s department bulletin.

Edwin Cridland

Edwin Cridland’s death in the Eaton Fire was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. He was 94.

His best friend, Dennis Chapman, told ABC 7 Los Angeles that Cridland was a “kind soul.” He died in the home he grew up in, Chapman said.

“Kind of makes things full circle. That everything, you know, started and ended right there” he told the station.

Evelyn McClendon

Evelyn McClendon was remembered by her brother as a “wonderful person.”

“The main part that she would want me to say is that she was a Christ, God-fearing woman,” Zaire Calvin said at a news conference with his attorneys announcing a wrongful death lawsuit. “She never did anything bad.”

Attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Anne Andrews said they filed the suit against Southern California Edison “for its role” in the fires and failing “to turn off utilities despite dangerous conditions.”

Diana Webb

Diana Webb, 82, died in the Palisades Fire, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Webb last had contact with her family on Jan. 9, two days after the fire broke out, according to a missing persons bulletin.

Betty O’Meara

Betty O’Meara died in the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. She was 94.

Oswald Altmetz

Oswald Altmetz’s death was confirmed by the the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. He died in the Eaton Fire and was 75 years old.

Mark Shterenberg

Mark Shterenberg died in the Palisades Fire at the age of 80, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Shterenberg emigrated from Russia to the U.S. with his wife and daughter in 1980, and worked as an engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Hughes Aerospace Corp., the Los Angeles Times reported.

“He was so smart, and so dedicated, and had such an amazing work ethic,” granddaughter Tatiana Bedi told the Times. “I don’t think he ever took a day of vacation. He got up every day and went to work building a life for his family.”

Lora Swayne

Lora Swayne died in the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. She was 71.

Barbara Lewis

Barbara Lewis, 84, died in the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.