The victims who died in the wind-driven fires that have decimated the Los Angeles area fires this week include a man who was found holding a garden hose as well as an 82-year-old man who died in his bed, family members told CBS News.
Five of at least 10 people killed by the blazes died in the Eaton Fire. One of those victims was 66-year-old Victor Shaw who was found holding a hose after the flames ravaged his neighborhood. His sister, Shari Shaw, told CBS News that she thinks he tried to fight back the fire.
“He wasn’t in the best of health but I know he probably fought with all his will,” she said.
Shaw said she would miss her big brother.
“I’ll miss talking to him, joking about, traveling with him and I’ll just miss him to death,” she said. “I just hate that he had to go out like that.”
Also killed in the Eaton Fire was 82-year-old Rodney Nickerson, who died in his bed. His daughter, Kimiko Nickerson, said that he wanted to stay in his longtime home in Altadena, a middle-class community near Pasadena.
“He said Altadena’s been through some stuff and I’m gonna be alright,” she told CBS News.
The Associated Press reported that 67-year-old amputee Anthony Mitchell and his son, Justin, who has cerebral palsy, also died in the fire in Altadena.
“They didn’t make it out,” said Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, who said the two were waiting for an ambulance to pick them up.
White said authorities told her that Mitchell was found by the side of his son’s bed, the AP reported.
Altadena resident Nira Chow was able to evacuate before the fire engulfed her house but when she returned, her home had been reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble.
“I’ve lost everything,” she told CBS News. “Pictures, memories…”
More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed in the fires as strong winds fanned blazes in densely populated parts of the region. Residents have described harrowing escapes and losing their homes, while photos show devastating scenes of properties reduced to charred debris.