What we know about the victims killed in the California wildfires (original) (raw)

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-four people are known to have died across the Los Angeles area after destructive wildfires fueled by dry conditions and powerful winds erupted Tuesday. Thousands of structures have been destroyed and roughly 180,000 people have been forced from their homes. Officials have said the true death toll is not known as the fires continue to destroy neighborhoods.

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 on Friday. “He really loved his kids.”

Anthony Mitchell.

Anthony said he last spoke to his father around 5 a.m. Wednesday. 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 on Thursday.

Erliene Louise Kelley.

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.

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"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 Tuesday night 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.

Victor Shaw.

"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 Wednesday morning, 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.

Rodney Nickerson.

Nickerson was outside trying to hose down his property around 7 p.m. Tuesday, 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."

Rory Sykes

Former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died Wednesday 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 Wednesday.

Rory Sykes.

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

Randall Miod.

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 Tuesday, 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.’”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com