Among the first ten victims counted by the American authorities, Victor Shaw, 66, tried to fight against the flames.
It is time for the first tributes to the victims of the fires which have been raging since Tuesday in Los Angeles. According to the latest police reports, the fires raging since Tuesday in the city of Angels have caused at least 10 deaths, destroyed more than 10,000 buildings and led to the evacuation of more than 180,000 people, for an estimated cost of more than 150 billion of dollars.
Five of at least ten people killed by the fires died in the Eaton Fire. One of those victims was Victor Shaw, 66, who was found holding a garden hose in his hand after the flames passed. His sister Shari Shaw told ABC News he died trying to protect his Altadena home from fire.
“He wasn’t in very good health, but I know he probably fought with all his will, her sister told ABC News. I will miss talking to him, joking, traveling with him. I hate that he had to die like that. I can’t imagine how he could have been so scared. And I couldn’t be there to save him. That’s what hurts me the most.”
The body of Victor Shaw was found outside the house where he had lived since 1965. Health problems which affected his mobility. The Eaton fire, which broke out on Tuesday, has covered more than 10,000 hectares, including 5,000 of businesses and homes damaged or destroyed.
“Everything will be fine for me”
Another man tried a bet – lost. Rodney Nickerson, 82, refused to leave his home in Altadena, near Pasadena, despite urging from his daughter, Kimiko Nickerson. “He said that Altadena had been through difficult things and that everything would be fine for me”she told CBS News. The nonagenarian died in his bed.
Among the other victims recorded at this stage, Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son Justin, suffering from cerebral palsy (CP), were unable to escape the flames of Altadena. “They didn’t manage to get out of it”confirmed Hajime White, the daughter, to theAssociated Press. She said the two men were waiting for an ambulance to come pick them up.
Thousands of firefighters are still battling the flames this Friday, while US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Los Angeles, in the grip of devastating fires, resembled a “war scene”. The outgoing Democratic president added that there were “clear evidence of looting” in the megalopolis, while denouncing the “demagogues” who seek to profit from misinformation surrounding the disaster.
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