Devastating wildfires have swept through the Los Angeles area, claiming the lives of at least 13 people and destroying thousands of structures. The fires, which erupted on Tuesday, have displaced roughly 180,000 people.
At least 13 people have died across the Los Angeles area in the wildfires. Officials have said the true death toll is not known as the fires continue to burn. 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. The fires 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.Anthony Mitchell remembered his father as a'protector' who would do anything for his family. The 67-year-old great-grandfather of 10, who shared the same name as his son, died in his Altadena home. 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 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 said he last spoke to his father around 5 a.m. on 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 from the home.Anthony described his father as a leader who cherished his family. He gave each one of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren nicknames 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.’”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.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.The family wasn’t 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 (my 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 now 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, 66, was trying to protect his home that had been in the family for over five decades when he was killed Tuesday night in the Eaton Fire, his family said. that they lived together in the home, and 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 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 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, 83, went to sleep in his Altadena home Tuesday night believing he could leave the next day, his daughter Kimiko NickersonKimiko said she was feeling'devastation' in the wake of her loss. 'The whole neighborhood is gone,' she added.'I've been living here my whole life and my whole life is gone.' Kimiko described her father as a'great person' who was funny, the life of the party and intelligent. She said he loved sports, people, and to read. Nickerson worked for the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin for more than four decades, Kimiko said. She confirmed he was the grandson of William Nickerson, the man who started Golden State Mutual, which was one of the first companies to offer life insurance to Black people., who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died Wednesday in the California wildfires after his mother said she was unable to save him from his burning cottage. The actor, 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 that was engulfed by flames on Wednesday. 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.Rory Callum Sykes. (Shelley Sykes via X) Shelley Sykes said she drove to the local fire department for help, but they told her they did not have any water. She said when the fire department brought 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 in a post o
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