SPECIAL REPORT: Heartbreaking stories surface on LA fire victims

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Heartbreaking accounts are emerging about those who have been killed amid the devastating wildfires that have swept across parts of Los Angeles this week, leaving entire neighbors literally wiped off the map.

Below are details about just some of the victims who have been publicly identified:

Victor Shaw, 66
From Fox News: The wildfires raging through Los Angeles County Friday have killed at least 10 as details are emerging about the victims, including one reported to have been found clutching a garden hose in his hand while trying to defend his family home of more than 50 years.

Victor Shaw, 66, was identified by KTLA as one of the fatalities from the devastating Eaton Fire centered around the city of Pasadena. His sister Shari told the station that Victor said he wanted to stay behind Tuesday night to try to fight the flames, but a family friend said his body was discovered the next day on the side of a road with a hose.

“They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace,” Shari Shaw told KTLA.

Anthony Mitchell, 67, an amputee, and Justin Mitchell, his bedridden son who had cerebral palsy and was in his 20s.
From the Washington Post: Hajime White picked up the phone Wednesday morning to hear her father’s voice on the other end of the line.

“He said, ‘Baby, I’m just letting you know the fire’s broke out, and we’re going to have to evacuate,’” White, a doula in Warren, Arkansas, recounted Thursday. “Then he said, ‘I’ve gotta go — the fire’s in the yard.’”

Her father, Anthony Mitchell, 67, was a retired salesman and wheelchair-using amputee who lived in Altadena with his son, Justin, who was in his early 20s and bedridden from cerebral palsy, White said.

Another one of his sons, Jordan, also in his 20s, normally lived with the pair but was in the hospital with an infection, and none of their caregivers were on hand to help. A few hours later, White got the news they didn’t survive.

Rodney Nickerson, 83
From CBS News: An 83-year-old grandfather was found by his family, dead in his bed amid the rubble and ash after the Eaton Fire raged through his Altadena neighborhood.

As Kimiko Nickerson walked through what was left of her childhood home on Thursday, she said that the last thing her father said to her on the phone was “I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“We found his bones, his whole body was intact,” Kimiko said.

Kimiko said her father Rodney insisted on staying in their family home that he purchased in 1968 for $5. The Nickerson family is deeply rooted in the Los Angeles community. Kimiko said her great-grandfather, William Nickerson was the founder and owner of Nickerson Gardens in Watts, the largest public housing development in Los Angeles.

Erliene Kelley, 83
From the New York Times: Erliene Kelley, who lived a few blocks away from Mr. Shaw and Mr. Nickerson, died in her home, according to her family.

She was a retired pharmacy technician at Rite Aid and longtime resident of the neighborhood, according to Rita and Terry Pyburn, a couple who lived on her block.

“She was so, so, so sweet,” said Mr. Pyburn. He often had brief chats with Ms. Kelley about gardening and local news, and often left small Christmas gifts for her and other neighbors in the tight-knit community.

“She was an angel,” Mr. Pyburn said. “That’s the perfect neighbor. When you see her, you have a smile.”

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