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Wildfires raging across the Los Angeles region have claimed at least 16 lives so far, with officials warning the death toll could rise. Fuelled by dry conditions and powerful winds, the fires have engulfed thousands of structures and forced around 180,000 residents to evacuate.
Here is what we know so far about some of the victims:
Anthony Mitchell, 67, and his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, tragically died in their home in Altadena.
Hajime White, Anthony’s daughter, said her father called her on Wednesday morning, saying they had to evacuate. “Then he said, ‘I’ve got to go—the fire’s in the yard,” she told The Washington Post.
Anthony, a retired salesman and amputee, refused to leave Justin behind. “He probably could have gotten out, but he wasn’t going to leave my brother,” his son Anthony Jr told NBC.
Justin, in his early 20s, enjoyed watching television and being read to. White described their loss as “a ton of bricks falling” on her family.
Victor Shaw, 66, was found with a garden hose in his hand outside his Altadena home, which had been in his family for over 50 years.
His sister, Shari Shaw, told KTLA she tried to convince him to evacuate as the flames approached, but he wanted to stay and protect their house. “When I called out his name, he didn’t reply. I had to leave because the embers were flying like a firestorm,” she said.
The next morning, family friend Al Tanner found Victor’s body near the road. “It looks like he was trying to save the home his parents had for nearly 55 years,” Tanner told NBC.
Rodney Nickerson, 83, died in his bed after deciding to stay in his Altadena home.
“My son and neighbours tried to get him to leave, but he said he’d be fine,” his daughter Kimiko Nickerson told KCAL. Rodney, a retired Lockheed Martin engineer, had lived in the house since 1968.
Kimiko last spoke to her father via FaceTime before the fire consumed the property. “His house is here, and he was here too,” she said, according to a report by Associated Press (AP).
Erliene Kelley, 83, insisted on staying in her Altadena home despite warnings to evacuate.
Her granddaughter, Briana Navarro, told the Los Angeles Times: “She was adamant about staying. She didn’t think the fire would reach the house.”
The family lost contact with Kelley, and police later confirmed her body was found in the rubble. Navarro said, “She was at peace staying in the home she tended to every day.”
Rory Sykes, 32, an Australian-born former child star with cerebral palsy, died in a cottage on his family’s Malibu estate.
His mother, Shelley Sykes, told Australian media that the cottage caught fire during the Palisades Fire. “I couldn’t put out the flames on his roof with the hose because there was no water,” she said.
Shelley, who has a broken arm, couldn’t lift Rory to safety. “He said, ‘Mom, leave me,’ but no mother could leave their child,” she told 10 News First. Shelley wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I’m heartbroken. Rory was a wonderful son.”
Authorities have warned that identifying victims will take time as traditional methods like fingerprinting may not be possible. The fires, which began on Tuesday, continue to burn, leaving families devastated and communities struggling to recover.
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