A 67 year-old amputee father was killed in the LA wildfires after staying behind to wait for an ambulance for his disabled son, who also died.
Anthony Mitchell was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, after his family said he tried to protect them both.
‘They didn’t make it out,’ Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White told the Washington Post.
White said her father called her on Wednesday morning to tell her he and her half-brother Justin were evacuating due to the advancing fires.
‘Then he said, ‘I’ve got to go — the fire’s in the yard,’ she recalled, saying it was the last time she heard his voice.
‘He was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what,’ she added. ‘It’s very hard. It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me.’
White said her father was a retired salesman and amputee who used a wheelchair, and said he was a loving family man dedicated to his four children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
It comes as the death toll from the Los Angeles fires doubled to 10 overnight as officials warned the true devastation will take time to be uncovered.
Anthony Mitchell, 67, (pictured) was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California, as his family said he ‘was not going to leave his son behind, no matter what’
Mitchell’s daughter Hajime White said she spoke to her father on the phone as the fires approached his home, and after his tragic passing she said it felt ‘like a ton of bricks just fell on me’
Los Angles authorities said late Thursday night that the official death toll doubled to 10, but warned that the true death count was ‘expected to rise’
The LA medical examiner announced late Thursday night that it was investigating 10 fire-related deaths in the area, but did not offer any information on the victims’ identities or their locations.
As investigators continue to comb through the ashes while fire crews battle multiple blazes, the medical examiner said some identifications could take weeks.
This is due to challenges accessing the bodies in certain areas and their charred remains, with teams using dental records and DNA to identify people as identifiers such as fingerprints and facial features lost.
‘Please also keep in mind, traditional means of identification such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add more time for naming these decedents,’ the medical examiner said in a statement.
Three other victims have so far been named, including another Californian who stayed behind to try and fight the out-of-control fires.
Victor Shaw, 66, tragically perished in the Eaton Fire after his sister Shari Shaw said she pleaded with him to evacuate with her.
She told KTLA that she tried on Tuesday night to get her brother to leave with her as fires approached, but he wanted to stay behind to rest, as he suffered from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Victor Shaw, 66, was identified as one of the victims of the Los Angles fires, after his sister said he tried to keep the fires away from his family home
Another victim to be named so far was Rodney Nickerson, 82, who died in his Altadena home after also staying behind instead of evacuating
As searches across Los Angeles continue, resident Dalyce Kelley took to Facebook to urge anyone to contact her after her family could not locate her grandmother (pictured together) when her home burned down
‘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 – I had to save myself,’ Shari said.
‘And I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.’
A family friend later told the outlet that they found Victor’s charred remains by the side of the road with a hose on Wednesday morning, and it looked ‘like he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years.’
Another victim to be named so far was Rodney Nickerson, 82, who died in his Altadena home after also staying behind instead of evacuating, his daughter Kimiko Nickerson told KTLA.
She said he was preparing to potentially evacuate, but believed that he would be fine to stay in his home and wait out the disaster sweeping the area.
‘He was gathering some things, packing up his car a bit, and he said that he was going to gather up his stuff, but he said he was going to stay here too … he said that he felt this was going to pass over and that he would be here,’ she said.
As searches across Los Angeles continue, resident Dalyce Kelley took to Facebook to urge anyone to contact her after her family could not locate her grandmother when her home burned down.
A firefighter battles the fire in the Angeles National Forest near Mt. Wilson as the wildfires burn in the Los Angeles area, during the Eaton Fire in Altadena
Investigators and residents search through ashes and rubble in burnt homes during the Eaton Fire in Altadena
Although only five victims have yet to be identified and 10 have been announced, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said: ‘Unfortunately, I think the death toll will rise.’
Luna urged residents to have patience with officials attempting to get an accurate and complete death count.
‘We’re still working in a very fluid and active environment, meaning that there are still spot fires going on in areas and there’s gas leaks,’ he said.
‘So when people are asking us for numbers of fatalities, we want to give them to you, but we have to wait until it’s safe for our personnel to be able to go in there and do this right.’
Since the devastating wildfires began, a number of A-list celebrities have revealed they also lost their homes in the blazes.
Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins, Tina Knowles, John Goodman, Candy Spelling, Milo Ventimiglia, and Miles Teller are among those whose homes were demolished.
The so-called Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on LA’s western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming more than 34,000 acres (13,750 hectares) – or some 53 square miles.
