An amputee and his son with cerebral palsy are among the 11 deaths in the fires that rage in Los Angeles. The father was found next to his son’s bed.
One victim told a family member that he did not want to evacuate. He died trying to fight the fire that consumed his home for more than 50 years.
Another victim, an 85-year-old woman, refused to leave her home as the rapidly advancing Palisades Fire approached, preferring to stay with her beloved pets.
Five of the 11 deaths appear to be linked to the Palisades Fire near the Southern California coast, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Six other deaths have been attributed to the Eaton Fire, which swept through East Los Angeles.
According to authorities, the full death toll will not be clear until it is safe for investigators to enter neighborhoods where there are downed power lines, gas leaks and other hazards.
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Annette Rossilli
Annette Rossilli, 85, insisted on staying in her Pacific Palisades home with her dog Greetly, her canary Pepper, her two parrots and her tortoise, according to Luxe Homecare, the company that provided her with home care three days a week.
The Palisades Fire, the largest of several fires, started Tuesday morning. Rossilli was encouraged to leave Tuesday afternoon.
A caregiver later offered to pick up Rossilli even though it was his day off, Fay Vahdani, president of Luxe Homecare, said Friday. Neighbors tried to convince her to evacuate, but Rossilli refused to do so.
On Wednesday, firefighters found Rossilli’s body in his car, according to Vahdani and the victim’s relatives.
Rossilli is survived by a daughter and a son. She ran a plumbing business in Pacific Palisades for many years with her late husband. She continued to live in the same house after his death.
She was a kind, friendly and grateful person who had many friends in the community and will be deeply missed, according to Luxe Homecare.
Antonio and Justin Mitchell
Anthony Mitchell, an amputee who used a wheelchair, last spoke with his daughter, Hajime White, who lives in Arkansas, on Wednesday morning, he told the Washington Post.
He told his daughter he planned to evacuate his home in Altadena, a neighborhood north of Pasadena in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Mitchell and her adult son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, lived together, White told the newspaper.
They never evacuated: White said authorities told him Mitchell’s body was found next to his son’s bed.
“He wasn’t going to leave his son behind. No matter what happens,” White told the Post. “It’s very difficult. “It’s like a ton of bricks have fallen on me.”
Erliene Kelley
Erliene Kelley decided not to evacuate Tuesday night with her granddaughter and her family. He wanted to stay in the Altadena house where he had lived for more than 40 years.
“It’s in God’s hands,” Kelley told family members, according to his granddaughter, Briana Navarro.
Navarro wrote in a GoFundMe post that the family was notified on Friday that Kelley had died in the Eaton fire.
“We made the decision to evacuate on Tuesday night, however, my grandmother decided she wanted to stay,” Navarro wrote. He later asked his father to check on Kelley, who again refused to evacuate.
Navarro’s father returned to the house Wednesday and discovered it had been destroyed by the fire.
Navarro, her husband and their two children lived with Kelley. They lost everything in the fire, according to the publication.
Victor Shaw
Victor Shaw, 66, decided to try to fight the devastating Eaton Fire with a garden hose this week instead of evacuating his former family home, according to KTLA.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed his death, saying he died at home from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.
Shaw lived with her younger sister, Shari Shaw, who told KTLA that the intensity of the approaching fire forced her to evacuate Tuesday night, but that her brother insisted on staying.
Rodney Nickerson
In one of his last phone calls, as the Eaton Fire approached his home in Altadena, Rodney Nickerson said, “Son, the winds are coming up very, very strong.”
The son, Eric Nickerson, remembers every word of that last conversation with his father. They were very close and talked every day.
“It was a normal conversation. Like most mornings,” Eric Nickerson told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday.
The younger Nickerson recalled not being able to contact his father later that Tuesday or the next morning.
After other family and friends learned of Rodney’s death, they struggled to break the news to their son.
“They didn’t know what to tell me,” Eric Nickerson said. “They really didn’t know what words to say to me because of the situation.”
The close-knit, working-class neighborhood where Rodney Nickerson lived for more than 50 years (and where his son grew up) has been virtually destroyed by fire.
“He’s devastated,” Eric Nickerson lamented. “It looks like a movie set.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
