Families mourn LA wildfire victims: Surfers, adventurers, matriarchs, fathers and sons
Weary Angelenos picking up the pieces of their homes and possessions are mourning the lives lost to the smoke and flames that have burned for more than a week, even as they remain on alert for new wildfire threats across the region.
At least 12,000 structures — many of them homes — have been leveled or damaged, leaving 82,400 people still under evacuation orders and another 90,400 under evacuation warnings. Los Angeles County officials said some people in evacuation zones would be let home sooner than a week but it may take even longer for others as officials attempted to recover and identify charred human remains.
Here's what we know about those who died:
Kim Winiecki
Jeannette McMahon said her friend of more than 20 years, Kim Winiecki, was a very private person, but she opened up to those closest to her.
Winiecki, who lived near her in Altadena, stopped driving a few years ago, so McMahon and other friends would pick her up for their dinner parties and other gatherings. "When I would pick her up, she was always very animated, great fun," McMahon told USA TODAY. "She had a great way with words, and we always said she was a writer at heart."
Winiecki had retired at 55 from a job with the phone company, and the 77-year-old took pride in her home and in her independence, McMahon remembered. When McMahon saw the flames off in the distance near Winiecki's house, she texted an offer to pick her up. "Her response was, 'I'm OK... I feel calm.'"
McMahon and her family stayed in their car, and the following day, she texted Winiecki and grew worried as more time passed without a response. McMahon had a feeling her friend was gone, wouldn't have left her home, no matter how many neighbors and friends offered. "Her house was everything," she said. "It was her haven, her sanctuary and security."
McMahon said she and other friends are grateful people have reached out to ask about Winiecki. They'll find ways to remember her as time passes, too: "We will keep her memory alive. We will have a birthday party for her in March and a memorial for her, and share stories about her."
Zhi Feng Zhao
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the death of Zhi Feng Zhao, a resident of Altadena.
The 84-year-old man died in his home on Tonia Avenue on Jan. 9.
Carolyn Burns
Carolyn Burns died at a home in Altadena on Jan. 10, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office.
The 56-year-old was previously reported missing and was last contacted on Jan. 6, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
"Carolyn is bedridden and her family is concerned for her well-being and asking for the public’s help," the county sheriff's department said in a statement last week.
Edwin Cridland
Edwin Cridland, 94, was confirmed dead by the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office. Cridland died at his home in Altadena on Jan. 11.
His best friend of 34 years, Dennis Chapman told KABC-TV that Cridland was a "kind soul." Chapman said he last spoke to Cridland the night the Eaton Fire erupted.
The two friends thought Cridland would be fine in his home, which was the same home he was raised in, according to KABC-TV. Cridland's home was consumed by the fire and vintage vehicles that he used to collect were singed.
"I think that when my time comes if I can be half the man he was and go to the same place, then I will be ok with it," Chapman told the television station.
Jeffrey Takeyama
Jeffrey Takeyama, 69, died in the Palisades Fire on Jan. 12, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Takeyama was last seen on Jan. 7 in Malibu, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a missing person's notice.
His family said in a verified GoFundMe campaign that they lost their Malibu home of 41 years and Takeyama to the fire. Takeyama leaves behind his wife, his two daughters, his son, a son-in-law, and a 4-year-old grandson, according to the family.
"Jeff wasn’t just a husband, father, grandfather, and friend—he was the protector of our home and our neighborhood. In every fire before this one, including the 1993 blaze, he worked tirelessly to keep us and our neighbors safe," the family said. "This time, the fire was different, and we are heartbroken beyond words."
"Our father’s absence leaves a hole in our family that can never be filled," the family added. "The neighborhood will never be the same and creating a new path for her feels overwhelming."
Arthur Simoneau
Jeff Bjorck knew Arthur Simoneau for 30 years through their shared love of hang-gliding. He told USA TODAY the 69-year-old was soft-spoken but "when he spoke, it was substantive."
"I always looked for him in the loading area whenever I pulled up to go flying," said Bjorck. "He was a great companion while driving up, setting up, and tearing down. We spoke mostly about flying and our mutual love of nature."
Simoneau spoke often with great pride about his son, and "viewed every flight as a good flight," Bjorck said in a text to USA TODAY. "Arthur also always had a ready smile, and it was genuine. What you saw was what you got."
A GoFundMe account publicized by friends in the Topanga Local Facebook page had raised more than $18,000 as of Monday afternoon.
"Arthur was somebody who made a strong impression on everybody he met," the GoFundMe, started by Andre Simoneau, said, noting that he had a "magnetic pull on all of us." "And not because of his salesman’s charisma or overwhelming friendliness. It was hard not to with his distinctive ponytail, his primeval aversion to closed-toe footwear, or whatever other quirk he was showcasing that day.
Simoneau's family and friends "always knew he wouldn’t die of old age or illness," the fundraiser said. "Between hang gliding multiple times per week, riding motorcycles with a 'for novelty use only' helmet, and skiing rock-lined chutes at Social Security age, it was always in the back of our heads that he would die in spectacular 'Arthur' fashion."
Annette Rossilli
Annette Rossilli, 85, died after refusing to evacuate the Pacific Palisades home she lived in with her dog, canary, two parrots and turtle, according to the home health care company that provided her care. Fay Vahdani, president of Luxe Homecare, told USA TODAY she saw Rossilli last month while visiting her clients during the holidays.
“I found her really lovely, bubbly. She went out of her way to thank me for sending such a good caregiver to take care of her,” Vahdani said. “She was so sweet and nice.”
Rossilli had two children and had been living alone in her Spanish-style home since her husband’s death, Vahdani said. “The family are very devastated,” she said.
Vahdani said Rossilli had trouble walking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which made it difficult to breathe, and had been receiving in-home care since May.
When the evacuations began, Rossilli's neighbors and caregiver offered to help her leave multiple times, but she was adamant that she didn’t want to abandon her pets, according to Vahdani. Firefighters found her body on Wednesday, Vahdani said.
Erliene L. Kelley
Erliene L. Kelley's granddaughter Briana Navarro began posting on X on Wednesday that her family's Altadena, California, home was in danger of being engulfed by the wildfire raging around it.
Navarro, who confirmed the account to the USA TODAY Network, posted later that the house had been lost and again that she was "hoping and praying that I can find my grandmother."
"I last talked to her at 1:30 a.m. She texted my dad at 3 a.m. saying they were evacuating her, but that's the last contact that was had," Navarro said.
But the evacuation never happened. "When my dad was about to leave my grandma's house, she was sitting in her room in all white pajamas, in the dark, holding the flashlight to her face," Navarro wrote. "He said he's never seen her look more at peace in her life. I said she looked like an angel, and the light shinning was a halo."
At 8:50 p.m., Navarro posted that her grandmother had died. On a GoFundMe page, she posted photos of her family and her grandmother and the home turned to rubble. "We have lost everything due to the fire and are truly devastated."
Mark Shterenberg
Mark Shterenberg, a former NASA engineer, died at his Palisades Fire home, CBS News and The Los Angeles Times reported. He was 80.
According to CBS News, the family's search for Shterenberg concluded on Jan. 11 when they called an elected official who informed them that his remains had been discovered.
Shterenberg emigrated to the U.S. from Russia with his wife, Marina, and young daughter in 1980, the Times reported. Shterenberg, who developed a fascination with space at a young age, later graduated at the top of his master's program class and went to work as an engineer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Hughes Aerospace Corp, according to CBS News.
"He was so smart, and so dedicated, and had such an amazing work ethic," said his granddaughter Tatiana Bedi told the Times. "I don’t think he ever took a day of vacation. He got up every day and went to work building a life for his family."
Victor Shaw
Victor Shaw died when the Eaton Fire consumed his neighborhood of Altadena, The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed Sunday. Shaw died due to smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to the medical examiner.
Relatives told KTLA-TV his home had been in his family for 55 years.
Shaw's family members told the Los Angeles outlet they discovered his body on the side of the road near the home, with a garden hose still in his hand. KTLA reported that Shaw lived in the home with his younger sister and that she had tried to get him to leave when the rest of the family fled following evacuation orders.
The 66-year-old had some health issues that limited his ability to get around well, she told ABC News.
Rodney Nickerson
Rodney Nickerson had remained in the home he bought in 1968 through other fires and wanted to wait for this one out as well, his daughter told KTLA-TV.
But his home was in the same Altadena neighborhood as Shaw's and Kelley's, and he, too died in the fire, family members told The New York Times. Nickerson was a former aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin and was, at 82, still an active dean in his church.
His family was well-known in the area, his son told the Times. His grandfather founded an insurance company, Golden State Mutual Life, and a housing project in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, Nickerson Gardens, was named for the patriarch, the Times reported.
Anthony Mitchell and Justin Mitchell
In a phone call early Wednesday, Anthony Mitchell told his daughter, Hajiime White, that the fire was in his yard, The Washington Post reported. He was going to have to evacuate with his son, Justin, who was bedridden with cerebral palsy and used a computer to communicate.
But they didn't make it out.
In a post on Facebook, White wrote, "My daddy and baby brother is Gonneee!!"
Cousin Rita Cook told CBS News that family members are still trying to wrap their heads around the loss. "Anthony was such a great guy, businessman, family man," she said, adding that "he was such a jewel."
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Randall Miod
Randall Miod, 55, passed away defending the beloved Malibu beach house he had lived in for decades, his mother, Carol Smith, told CNN. Detectives, she said, had found remains inside the Pacific Coast Highway home.
"He’d been through so many of these fires and made it through unscathed. I think he thought he could do it again," Smith told CNN. "Now that I’m realizing how many memories he had in that home, I can understand why he didn’t want to leave."
His friend, Corina Cline, told the Washington Post that Miod often called the house the "Crab Shack," in reference to his nickname Crawdaddy.
Relatives and friends remembering Miod on social media described him as an avid surfer, a lover of people, and always the life of the party.
Evelyn McClendon
Zaire Calvin lost his sister, Evelyn McClendon, to the Eaton Fire in Altadena, he told 60 Minutes. Calvin said he separated from his sister while trying to get his baby and mother to safety.
According to Calvin, she lived in a separate home next door. When he returned after the storm, he told 60 Minutes that her car was still in the driveway.
Calvin told CNN that he and his cousin began to dig in the rubble around McClendon’s home and found her remains.
Rory Sykes
A former Australian child actor born blind with cerebral palsy is among the dead in the Palisades Fire, his mother announced.
Rory Callum Sykes, 32, died in his Malibu cottage on Wednesday as his mother, Shelley, who lived on the estate, tried to save him, she said on social media and in a news interview. He had difficulty walking, she said.
During the fires, she told the Australian news outlet 10 News First that she tried to call 911, but could not connect to a responder. As she tried to put out cinders on the roof using a water hose, the water ran out, she said in a social media post on Thursday
She has a broken arm, she told 10 News First, and couldn’t lift or move him.
“He said, ‘Mom, leave me,’” Shelley Sykes said through tears in the interview. “And no mom could leave their kid.”
She drove to the local fire station for help, she said, but firefighters also didn’t have water. She later found her son’s cottage burned to the ground. Their 17-acre estate also burned down Wednesday, Shelley Sykes said.
While the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner hasn’t listed Rory Sykes’ death, she said he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Shelley Sykes, a British-born Australian actor, wrote a book about her son’s disabilities and how he overcame odds. Born in Great Britain, Rory Sykes was raised in Australia and lived in the U.S.
Charles Mortimer
Charles Mortimer, 84, was identified Sunday as one of the victims of the Palisades Fire by The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Mortimer died in the hospital due to an acute myocardial infarction, the effects of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.
In a statement to ABC News, Mortimer’s niece, Meredith, remembered him as a world traveler who loved the Chicago Cubs.
“He will be remembered as a man with a quick wit, a brilliant mind, and a love for his family,” she said. “His infectious smile and never-ending sense of humor will be greatly missed by his friends and family all over the world.”
Dalyce Curry
"God is love and Momma Dee was too," Dalyce Curry's granddaughter Lorée Beamer-Wilkinson wrote on Facebook.
The 95-year-old was a retired actress who'd had bit parts in movies including "The Ten Commandments," "Lady Sings the Blues" and "The Blues Brothers," Curry, was still active despite her age, her granddaughter told ABC7-TV in Los Angeles.
"We are devastated, and it’s difficult to comprehend how her life came to this end," Beamer-Wilkinson wrote.
"Momma D was an extraordinary woman who welcomed me and my children into her life with open arms," Beamer-Wilkinson added. "She radiated positivity, showed grace, and lived as a shining example of strength, resilience, and kindness. Her story is one of breaking barriers, overcoming challenges, and spreading love wherever she went."
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Contributing: Charles Ventura and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY; Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA wildfire victims remembered: Surfer. Adventurer. Matriarchs.