The fires that have ravaged Southern California have already claimed the lives of some of the area’s most vulnerable residents as local officials still fail to provide answers several days into the disaster.
The stories about the deceased fire victims are both heartbreaking and infuriating.
Anthony and Justin Mitchell, father and son
Anthony Mitchell was a 67-year-old retired salesman. A father of four, grandfather of 11, and great-grandfather of 10, Mitchell was a family man who loved to coin nicknames for those he loved.
“He had nicknames for everybody: Strawberry Shortcake, Marshmallow, Bug. He just went on and on,” said his daughter Hajime White, who lives in Arkansas.
Mitchell was an amputee and moved about in a wheelchair. He also cared for his son Justin who, though in his 20s, was bedridden due to cerebral palsy. Justin had difficulty speaking and mainly communicated through a computer.
Anthony called White Wednesday morning to alert her that they had to evacuate the area. “He said, ‘Baby, I’m just letting you know the fire’s broken out, and we’re going to have to evacuate,” White recalled, according to the New York Post.
He then quickly added: “I’ve gotta go — the fire’s in the yard.”
Hours later, White learned that both her father and her half-brother were dead. “It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me,” she explained.
“He was not going to leave his son behind,” White said of her dad. “No matter what.”
Victor Shaw dies trying to save his home
Victor Shaw’s family had been living in the same home on Montrose Avenue for 55 years. Though the home was in the path of the Eaton Fire and 66-year-old Victor and his younger sister Shari Shaw, who lived together, were under evacuation orders, Victor was determined to protect their home.
As flames from the Eaton Fire crept closer and closer, Shari made a run for it, but Victor remained behind.
“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 that I had to save myself,” Shari said.
When officials later found Victor, he was outside, garden hose still in hand.
“They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace.”
Rodney Nickerson, retired engineer
Rodney Nickerson also refused to abandon his home despite evacuation orders. The 83-year-old retired Lockheed Martin engineer and church deacon bought the Altadena place for just $5 in 1968, according to CBS News.
“Everyone bought their houses for $30,000 and $35,000 in the early ’70s, and now they’re worth millions,” said Rodney’s son, Eric Nickerson.
According to daughter Kimiko Nickerson, Rodney thought he and his home could withstand the fiery threat.
“My son tried to get him to leave, and my neighbors and myself, and he said he’ll be fine. ‘I’ll be here when you guys come back,’ and he said his house would be here,” Kimiko recalled.
“His house is here and he was here too,” she added. “We found his bones, his whole body was there, intact.”
The fire seems to have decimated the entire neighborhood. “They’re all gone,” Eric said, referring to the homes.
Erliene Kelley, ‘the perfect neighbor’
Erliene Kelley, a retired Rite Aid pharmacy technician, lived just a few blocks from Nickerson and Shaw, the New York Times reported.
Rita and Terry Pyburn, who lived in the same neighborhood and knew Kelley, are saddened that she also died in the fire.
“She was an angel,” said Terry. “That’s the perfect neighbor. When you see her, you have a smile.”
“She was so, so, so sweet.”
‘A DEI … hydrogen bomb’: Horrendous breakdown in leadership
The Pyburns are among many outraged L.A.-area residents.
“There was not good communication,” Terry said. He and Rita believed that their residence on the west side of Lake Street was fine — until it was almost too late.
“We were in the house and just stayed there, thinking we were okay until we started smelling smoke,” he told the Times.
“It was panic. Everyone took off and no one thought to check on anybody,” he continued. “I think the notice came too late.”
Between the communication failures, dry fire hydrants, a slashed fire department budget, and fire department officials more concerned about gender representation than saving lives, the failed leadership in L.A. has created what Victor Davis Hanson described as “a DEI, Green New Deal hydrogen bomb” that has exploded, turning the beautiful oceanside area to ash.
‘This is a time of grief.’
Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has been feeling the heat for her apparent incompetence during the crisis. When the fires first broke out on Tuesday, Bass was on the other side of the globe, attending the inauguration of the president of Ghana. When Bass finally returned to her city, more than 24 hours after the fires began, she then ignored repeated questions from a reporter demanding answers on behalf of her beleaguered constituents.
“Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster?” asked David Blevins of Sky News. Bass did not respond.
Bass may now be back in town, but the situation on the ground has hardly improved. According to the New York Post, two of the fires — the Eaton and Sunset Fires — are 0% contained. The Palisades fire is just 6% contained.
Even the Washington Post wondered “whether the area could have been better prepared for such a disaster, and what else could have been done to prevent such far-reaching devastation.”
So far, statements from area officials have been underwhelming. Here are just a few samples.
“This is testing even the strongest among us. This is a time of grief,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
“The winds continue to be of a historic nature and a key factor of this firestorm,” Bass said Thursday. “We also know that fire hydrants are not constructed to deal with this type of massive devastation and that the number-one problem, especially on … Wednesday, was the fact that we weren’t able to do the air support because of the winds.”
“It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley helpfully noted.
As of Friday morning, tens of thousands of acres have burned and 10 deaths have been confirmed, though officials believe that number will rise. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave a grim warning about what he expects in the coming days.
“At some point, we’ll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas — some of them look like a bomb was dropped on them — where we will be able to bring in canines and other things to help us [and] hopefully not discover too many fatalities.”
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Los angeles fires, Fires, La, Karen bass, California, Eaton fire, Palisades fire, Victor davis hanson, Politics
