Anthony Mitchell, 67, a former salesman, had been waiting with his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, for an ambulance to pick them up.
“He called everyone and said, ‘I’m fine, I’m just waiting to be evacuated,'” his eldest son Anthony Junior Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times. “He probably knew no one would come, but he wanted to calm everyone down.”
Relatives said they wanted to pick the two up and help them, but firefighters wouldn’t let them into the area. “They didn’t make it,” said Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White. Authorities told the family that Mitchell was found next to his son’s bed in Altadena. US media report that the family assumes that Mitchell was still trying to save his son, who was in his early 20s.
“He didn’t want to leave his son behind – no matter what happened,” said White, Justin’s stepsister from Arkansas. Anthony Junior Mitchell also says: “He probably could have gotten to safety, but he didn’t want to leave my brother. My father would never abandon one of his children.”
So the two of them held out and waited for rescue workers who never came, according to the family. They were two of the first victims of the devastating fires that are still raging.
Another son, who is between 20 and 30 years old, also lived with them. However, he was being treated in hospital at the time of the fire. Caregivers were not in the home, White explained. «It’s very difficult. It’s like a ton of bricks fell on me.”
“What hurts most is that our state was completely unprepared for this,” Mitchell said. As the Los Angeles Times reports, authorities have known for years that people with disabilities in California are disproportionately killed by wildfires. In 2019, the state released a report that emergency responders were unprepared for such dangers.
“You feel helpless,” said actress and singer Joci Scott, 26, who uses a wheelchair. “People with disabilities are usually forgotten during evacuation measures. It’s much more difficult for us.”
Are you grieving or is someone you know grieving?
Offered Hand, Worry Hotline, Tel. 143
Seelsorge.net, offer from the Reformed and Catholic churches
Muslim pastoral care, Tel. 043 205 21 29
Jewish care[email protected]
Lifewith.ch, for affected siblings
Association Familientrauerbegleitung.ch
Rainbow Switzerland Association, help for grieving families
Pro Juventute, advice for children and young people, Tel. 147
Pro Senectute, advice for older people in difficult life situations
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