Los Angeles fires: What do we know about the victims?

At least 24 people have died in the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, and there are fears the number will rise.

Authorities say it will take several weeks to identify the victims, as traditional methods – such as fingerprinting and visual identification – may be impossible to carry out.

Here’s what we know about the people who died, according to their family members and international media.

Victor Shaw died trying to defend his home from wildfire in Altadena, his family said.

The body of the 66-year-old man was found on the side of the road near his property, with a garden hose in his hand, according to television channel KTLA. The property had been in Mr Shaw’s family for almost 55 years.

Mr Shaw lived in the house with his younger sister Shari, who said she tried to get him to evacuate with her on Tuesday evening as the fire grew closer.

She told KTLA he refused because he wanted to try to fight the fire, adding that she had to flee because “the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm.”

Ms Shaw told CBS News she would miss her big brother.

“I will miss talking to him, joking with him, traveling with him and I will miss him to death,” she said. “I hate that he had to pass away like that.”

Miod died in his Malibu home, his mother Carol Smith told CNN.

On Tuesday, the 55-year-old told Ms. Smith that he had prepared a garden hose to protect the home, where he had lived for decades, from the approaching fire, CNN reports.

“His home was his most precious possession. It’s the one and only house he’s ever owned,” Mr. Smith said, according to the outlet.

“Now that I realize how many memories he had in that house, I can understand why he didn’t want to leave it.”

Randall’s friends posted tributes to the longtime Malibu resident on social media, sharing photos of him surfing and his red beach house.

Anthony Mitchell and his adult son Justin died at their Altadena home while trying to escape the fires, their family said.

Hajime White told the Washington Post that he received a call from his 67-year-old father saying “the fire is in the yard.”

Mr. Mitchell, a 67-year-old retired salesman and amputee, lived with his son Justin, who was in his 20s and had cerebral palsy, according to the newspaper.

Another of Mr. Mitchell’s sons, Jordan, lived with the couple, but was hospitalized with an infection, according to the Washington Post.

Ms White told the newspaper she had received the news of Mr Mitchell and Justin’s deaths, adding: “It’s like a sledgehammer: ‘It’s like a ton of bricks fell on me above “.

Mr Mitchell was a father of four, grandfather of 11 and great-grandfather of ten, Ms White said.

Rodney Nickerson, 83, died at his home in Altadena, according to his daughter, who said her father believed the wildfire “would pass.”

Kimiko Nickerson told KTLA that her father purchased the property in 1968 and had previously experienced fires over the decades.

Rodney worked as a project engineer at Lockheed Martin for 45 years.

Ms. Nickerson told CBS News that the last comment her father made to her was, “I’ll be here tomorrow.” She confirmed to the channel that his body had been found.

Annette Rossilli, 85, refused to leave her Pacific Palisades home after being ordered to evacuate following the start of the Palisades fire, CNN reported, citing Luxe Homecare, the company that provided her care at residence.

She lived in her house with her five pets: a dog, a canary, two parrots and a turtle.

Firefighters found Ms. Rossilli’s body in her car on Wednesday, according to CNN, which cited her relatives and the president of Luxe Homecare, Fay Vahdani.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify this information and has contacted Luxe Homecare for comment.

The 32-year-old Australian citizen died after the Palisades fire that broke out on Tuesday, his mother Shelley Sykes said in a post on X.

Shelley said her son, who suffered from cerebral palsy, died in a cottage on their 17-acre Malibu property, adding that she tried to put out the flames.

“He was my baby and he died needlessly,” she told Australian broadcaster 10 News First. He said, “Mommy, leave me,” and no mother can leave her child, and I have a broken arm. I couldn’t lift it. I couldn’t move it.”

Born in Britain, Rory was a former child actor, having starred in the British television series Kiddy Kapers in 1998.

He was born blind and had difficulty walking, but was able to regain his sight and learn to walk through surgeries, eventually becoming an “inspirational speaker,” Shelley said.

The family of Erliene Kelley, 83, learned late Thursday that she was one of the victims, reports the Los Angeles Times.

According to the newspaper, Ms. Kelley’s granddaughter, Briana Navarro, said her grandmother was “adamant” that she did not want to evacuate because previous fires had never reached their home. Altadena.

On Thursday evening, the family learned that authorities had found a body in the rubble of the house. It had been more than 48 hours since Ms. Navarro had heard from her grandmother.

Charles Mortimer, 84, was one of the victims of the Palisades fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

He died of a heart attack in hospital on January 8 after suffering fire-related injuries.

The medical examiner’s office lists the causes of death as acute myocardial infarction, effects of smoke inhalation, thermal injury and atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries.

Known to friends and family as “Momma D,” former actress Dalyce Curry, 95, died when her home in the Altadena neighborhood was destroyed by a fire. Eaton.

Her granddaughter, Dalyce Kelley, was the last person to see her alive, dropping her off at her home shortly before the fire.

“It was total devastation,” she told ABC News after seeing the scene again. “Everything was gone except his blue Cadillac.”

Ms. Curry’s career as an extra — someone who helps populate the background of television and film to make scenes more realistic — spanned several decades.

She has appeared in films such as The 10 Commandments, The Blues Brothers and Lady Sings the Blues.

Arthur Simoneau, a hang glider pilot for forty years, died in the Palisades fire while trying to save his home in Topanga, according to his relatives.

Friends and neighbors paid tribute to the 69-year-old on Facebook, describing him as a “spirited” character who was a pillar of the bohemian mountain community in which he lived.

Steve Murillo, a longtime friend and hang-glider, told the LA Times that Mr. Simoneau was returning from a ski trip when he learned his house was under an evacuation order, but he decided not to turn back.

Simoneau was “going home to save her if he could,” said his friend, who spoke to Simoneau by phone as he drove toward Topanga.

“Arthur was the kind of man who, once he set his mind to doing something, you couldn’t really dissuade him.”

Last Thursday, authorities found his body near the door of his home.