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.
So far, 11 people are known to have died in the Los Angeles area after devastating wildfires, fueled by dry conditions and high winds, broke out on Tuesday. Thousands of buildings have been destroyed and approximately 180,000 people have been driven from their homes. Officials have said the true death toll is unknown as the fires continue to destroy neighborhoods.
Here’s what we know about the victims so far:
Anthony and Justin Mitchell
Anthony Mitchell remembered his father as a “protector” who would do anything for his family. The 67-year-old great-grandfather of 10 years, who shared the same name as his son, died at his home in Altadena. Anthony’s younger brother, Justin Mitchell, also died.
Anthony said his father used a wheelchair after having a leg amputated last year and refused to leave Justin, who had cerebral palsy and could not walk.
“He probably could have gotten himself out, but he had no intention of abandoning my brother,” he told NBC News on Friday. “He really loved his children.”
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 relative and said he could see the fire across the street from the house.
“Everyone is just distraught about what happened,” he said.
Anthony described his father as a leader who cherished his family. He nicknamed all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was always willing to lend a helping hand.
“My father loved his family,” Anthony said. “Me and him had a long talk and he said, ‘I want you to know that my children and grandchildren, my nieces and nephews, all of you are my legacy. You are my darling.’ He said, ‘Money doesn’t matter, property doesn’t matter, my children and my family are my treasure.’
Justin enjoyed watching television and having people read to him.
“He was just a really sweet kid,” Anthony said.
Erliene Louise Kelley
Briana Navarro, 33, remembered her grandmother, Erliene Louise Kelley, as a “sweet” but “strict” woman who knew almost everyone in their neighborhood.
“When I’m out with her, you get stopped four or five times. Everybody knew her. Her generation, my parents’ generation, even all my friends in high school, they all say, ‘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 the window and saw smoke.
“We walked outside, you could just see a red glow,” she remembers. “It didn’t seem like anything major.”
The family was in no hurry to leave, but Navarro’s husband wanted to evacuate.
“My husband isn’t from here, so he looked at it a little differently than we did,” Navarro said. “We asked (my grandmother) … and she said, ‘No, no, I’m fine. Go ahead, guys.'”
Kelley, 83, who had experienced a major wildfire in the past, assumed everything would be fine, her granddaughter said. Police confirmed to Navarro Thursday evening that Kelley died when the fire engulfed the home.
Navarro said she thinks her grandmother was “at peace” in the home she “cared for every day” for more than four decades. The family is now struggling with the loss.
“My grandmother was very 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 more than five decades, when he was killed in the Eaton Fire Tuesday evening, his family said.
His sister, Shari Shaw, told KTLA that they lived in the house together, and when flames began to engulf the property, she tried to persuade him to leave.
Victor Shaw.
“When I went back in and called his name, he didn’t answer back and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying around like a firestorm,” she said. “I looked back and the house started going up in flames and I had to leave.”
Shari Shaw declined to be interviewed when contacted by NBC News saying she needed to focus on funeral arrangements for her brother.
Al Tanner, a family friend, told KTLA that when they went home Wednesday morning, they found Victor’s body on the side of the road with a garden hose in his hand.
“It appears he was trying to save the home his parents had for almost 55 years,” Tanner said.
Rodney Kent Nickerson
Rodney Kent Nickerson, 83, had reassured loved ones that he would be fine while his family and neighbors tried to get him to evacuate his Altadena home, his daughter Kimiko Nickerson told KCAL News.
“My son tried to get him to leave, and my neighbors and I said he was going to be okay. I’ll be here when you come back. And he said his house would be here,” she said.
Rodney Nickerson.
Nickerson was outside hosing down his property around 7 p.m. Tuesday, his daughter said. The last time she spoke 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 the telephone numbers listed for her.
Nickerson, who worked for 45 years as a project engineer manager for the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, had lived in the house since 1968. Kimiko told the station, “I don’t know anywhere else but here.”
“I’ve been here all my life,” she said. “Myself and my brother and my son and his other grandchildren, this is where we’ve been all our lives.”
Rory Sykes
Former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died in the California wildfires on Wednesday after his mother said she could not save him from his burning cottage.
The actor, 32, who starred in the British TV show “Kiddy Kapers” in the late ’90s, lived in a cottage on his family’s 17-acre Malibu estate, which was engulfed by flames on Wednesday.
Rory Callum Sykes.
Shelley Sykes said it burned down in the Palisades Fire when she “couldn’t put out the embers on its roof with a hose” due to 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 mother could leave her child behind,” she said, crying.
Shelley Sykes said she drove to the local fire department for help, but they told her they had no water. She said that when the fire department brought her back, Rory’s “cottage had burned to the ground.”
“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes yesterday from the Malibu fires. My heart is broken,” she wrote in a post on X on Thursday, calling him “an amazing son.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
