A father at the bedside of his son, a surfer and a woman who stayed behind with her beloved pets are among wildfire victims

(CNN) — An amputee and his son with cerebral palsy were among the 27 deaths in the fires raging around Los Angeles. The father was found at his son’s bedside.

One victim told a relative that he did not want to evacuate. He died trying to fight the blaze that consumed his home of more than 50 years.

Another victim, an 85-year-old woman, refused to leave her home as the fast-moving Palisades Fire approached, preferring instead to stay behind with her beloved pets. A former child star from Australia also was among those who died, as well as a Malibu resident and surfer who was called a “magnet for people.”

Ten of the 27 deaths appear related to the Palisades Fire near the Southern California coast, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Another 17 deaths have been attributed to the Eaton Fire, which raged east of Los Angeles.

The complete death toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to enter neighborhoods where there are downed power lines, gas leaks and other hazards, according to authorities.

Here’s what we know about the victims:

Zhi Feng Zhao

Zhi Feng Zhao, 84, who struggled with mobility and vision issues, last spoke to his son the day before the fire broke out.

His 54-year-old son, Shaw Zhao, who primarily resides in Portland, Oregon, had intended to fly to Altadena the following day for reasons unrelated to the fire when his father called him January 7 to confirm his flight details and ask about dinner plans.

That was the last time he would ever speak to his father, Shaw told CNN.

With Shaw’s mother having died during the pandemic, Shaw says Zhi Feng had been living alone in their shared home in Altadena, California — a neighborhood ravaged by the Eaton Fire.

Shaw remembered his father, a native of China, as a remarkably intelligent and talented man who overcame challenges and language barriers to pursue education through scholarships and financial aid.

“Dad, along with Mom, taught me how to think critically and solve complex math problems,” Shaw said.

He expressed that the lessons imparted by his father shaped his educational and professional journey.

“Thank you, Dad. Rest in peace,” Shaw said.

Zhi Feng was identified by the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. His place of death was listed as his residence.

Annette Rossilli

Annette Rossilli, 85, insisted on staying in her Pacific Palisades home with her dog Greetly, her canary Pepper, her two parrots and her turtle, according to Luxe Homecare, the company that provided in-home care for her three days a week.

The Palisades Fire, the largest of several blazes, started Tuesday morning. Rossilli was encouraged to leave on Tuesday afternoon.

A caregiver later offered to pick Rossilli up even though it was her day off, Fay Vahdani, Luxe Homecare president, said Friday. Neighbors tried to convince her to evacuate but Rossilli refused to leave.

On Wednesday, firefighters found Rossilli’s body in her car, according to Vahdani and relatives of the victim.

Rossilli is survived by a daughter and a son. She ran a plumbing business in Pacific Palisades for many years with her late husband. She continued to live in the same home after his passing.

She was a kind, friendly and grateful person who had many friends in the community and will be deeply missed, according to Luxe Homecare.

Anthony and Justin Mitchell

Anthony Mitchell, an amputee who used a wheelchair, last spoke to his daughter, Hajime White, who lives in Arkansas, on Wednesday morning, she told the Washington Post.

He told his daughter he planned to evacuate his home in Altadena, a neighborhood north of Pasadena, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Mitchell and his adult son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, lived together, White told the newspaper.

They never evacuated: White said authorities told her Mitchell’s body was found by the bed of his son.

“He was not going to leave his son behind. No matter what,” White told the Post. “It’s very hard. It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me.”

Erliene Kelley

Erliene Kelley chose not to evacuate on Tuesday night with her granddaughter and her family. She wanted to stay in the Altadena home where she’d lived for more than 40 years.

“It’s in God’s hands,” Kelley told family members, according to her granddaughter, Briana Navarro.

Navarro wrote in a GoFundMe post that the family was notified on Friday that Kelley had perished in the Eaton Fire.

“We made the choice to evacuate on Tuesday night, however my grandmother decided she wanted to stay,” wrote Navarro. She later asked her father to check on Kelley, who again refused to evacuate.

Navarro’s father returned to the house on Wednesday and found it had been destroyed in the fire.

Navarro, her husband and their two children lived with Kelley. They lost everything in the fire, according to the post.

Victor Shaw

Victor Shaw, 66, decided to try to fight the raging Eaton blaze with a garden hose this week rather than evacuate his longtime family home, according to KTLA.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has confirmed his death, noting he died at his home from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

Shaw lived with his younger sister, Shari Shaw, who told KTLA the intensity of the approaching fire forced her to evacuate Tuesday night but that her brother insisted on staying.

Rodney Nickerson

In one of his final phone calls, as the Eaton Fire approached his Altadena home, Rodney Nickerson said, “Son, the winds are picking up really, really bad.”

The son, Eric Nickerson, remembers every word of that last conversation with his father. They were extremely close and spoke every day.

“It was a normal conversation. Like most mornings,” Eric Nickerson told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday.

The younger Nickerson recalled not being able to reach his father later that Tuesday, nor the following morning.

After other family members and friends learned of Rodney’s death, they struggled to break the news to his son.

“They didn’t know what to tell me,” Eric Nickerson said. “They didn’t really know what words to tell me because of the situation.”

The close-knit, working class neighborhood where Rodney Nickerson lived for more than 50 years – and where his son grew up – has been virtually destroyed by fire.

“It’s devastated,” Eric Nickerson lamented. “It looks like a movie set.”

Rory Callum Sykes

A former child star from Australia died when the Los Angeles wildfires ripped through his family’s Malibu estate in California earlier this week, according to his mother.

Rory Callum Sykes was at the family’s 17-acre Mount Malibu TV Studios estate, where he had his own cottage, when it burned down during the Palisades Fire on January 8, his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on X Thursday.

Shelley Sykes described her son, who appeared on the 1998 British TV series “Kiddy Kapers,” as “beautiful” and “wonderful” and said she was “totally heart broken” by his death.

She said she had tried to put out the wildfire cinders on her property’s roof using a hose but couldn’t because the water wasn’t working.

“He said, ‘mom leave me’ and no mom can leave their kid. And I’ve got a broken arm, I couldn’t lift him, I couldn’t move him,” Sykes told Australia’s 10 News First.

Her son, 32, was born blind with cerebral palsy and had become famous for his speeches on overcoming disability. He was the co-founder of Happy Charity, which according to its site offers, “Hope, Happiness & Health to those that are Hurting.”

On his website, Sykes described himself as a professional speaker and consultant for many companies including the Tony Robbins Foundation and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

“He overcame so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica,” Shelley Sykes wrote on X.

Randall “Randy” Miod

Randall “Randy” Miod, 55, died in the place he loved most: his home.

That’s according to his mother, Carol Smith, who said Miod lived in the Malibu beach house for decades.

Detectives found human remains in Miod’s home, Smith said, telling CNN all his roommates have been accounted for.

“(His home) was his prized possession. That’s the one and only house he ever owned,” Smith said. “He just felt so blessed to be able to live in Malibu. That was his dream come true because he’d been surfing since he was a teenager.”

About 30 years ago, Miod rented a studio apartment attached to the house. After 13 years, the owner offered to sell the house for a discounted price – an opportunity Miod jumped on.

From there, the house on Pacific Coast Highway became locally known as “the Crab Shack,” Smith said. Miod had an open-door policy in which friends were constantly coming and going from the red barn-style home built in 1924, she said.

“He was just kind of a magnet for people. And people just loved him and he loved people. He was a very kind person,” Smith said. “There was always a party, wherever Randy went, there was a party.”

Miod was determined to protect his beloved house.

When they talked on the phone Tuesday, he told Smith he had a garden hose ready to go. She believed he didn’t know how big the flames were going to get.

“He’d been through so many of these fires and made it through unscathed. I think he thought he could do it again,” Smith said. “Now that I’m realizing how many memories he had in that home, I can understand why he didn’t want to leave.”

Miod, who lived in California all his life, spent most of the last few decades managing restaurants and surfing.

“He used to cut class in high school to go surfing. I can remember one time I had to hide his surfboard,” Smith laughed. “I said, ‘You are supposed to be in the school. You’re not supposed to be at the beach.’”

She said the last year was a tough one for Miod, as he lost his restaurant job, broke a finger and had to say goodbye to his cat of many years. However, Smith said he always kept a positive outlook on life and searched for the silver lining despite the hardship. He even recently picked up a new kitten.

“He was unique… I’ve never known another one like him,” Smith said.

Charles Mortimer

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified Charles Mortimer, 84, as one of the victims of the Palisades Fire.

Mortimer, best known as Charlie, will be fondly remembered as a man who “truly lived life to its fullest,” his family said in a statement shared by his niece Meredith Mortimer.

“He was a world traveler, a sun worshipper and an avid sports fan,” the family’s statement said, adding that he finally got to see his “beloved” Chicago Cubs baseball team win the World Series.

“He will be remembered as a man with a quick wit, a brilliant mind, and a love for his family,” the statement said. “His infectious smile and never-ending sense of humor will be greatly missed by his friends and family all over the world.”

Mortimer died at an area hospital on January 8, the medical examiner’s office notes.

The office lists his causes of death as acute myocardial infarction, effects of smoke inhalation, thermal injuries, and coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Dalyce Curry

The remains of 95-year-old Dalyce Curry were discovered in the ruins of her Altadena home, her granddaughter Dalyce Kelley told CNN Monday. The coroner confirmed the news to Curry’s family Sunday evening.

CNN reached out to the LA County Medical Examiner for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Curry was reported missing after the Eaton Fire torched her home, which led to concerns for her safety.

Kelley, Curry’s part-time caregiver, had dropped her grandmother off late at night following a hospital visit. Unaware of the fire’s potential, Kelley returned to check on her grandmother after receiving alerts about power outages.

When Kelley arrived at the scene, an officer informed her that the property was gone. She recalled the officer saying, “I’m sorry to inform you that your grandmother’s home has been completely destroyed,” as she approached the barricade.

“Everything else was gone but the roof was on top of her chair,” Kelley said. “I had to go, knowing in my heart she was there, and she perished in that fire.”

Known affectionately as “Momma D,” Curry had a vibrant presence and was part of Old Black Hollywood in the 1950s, appearing as an extra in classic films like “The Ten Commandments” and “Lady Sings the Blues,” according CNN affiliate KABC.

Curry, an Altadena resident for nearly 20 years, was an actor and later became a nurse, her granddaughter said.

“She was a beautiful person, had a beautiful life,” Kelley said. “Taught me everything I knew.”

Evelyn McClendon

Evelyn McClendon last talked to her brother as flames from the Eaton Fire approached her Altadena neighborhood. She had been collecting her belongings to evacuate her home.

“I felt that she was on her way out,” her brother Zaire Calvin told CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Saturday.

Calvin said he was focused on getting his wife, his 1-year-old child, and his mother, who is disabled and in her 80s, out of the neighborhood. Their homes were next door to each other, he said, and McClendon’s house was right behind them.

“As we were leaving, I glanced and I remember seeing her (Evelyn’s) car still parked out in front of the house,” Calvin said.

At that moment, Calvin said he went up to his sister’s house and yelled, “we gotta get out, we gotta go now,” and then raced back down the driveway to help his mother.

“It looked like the scene out of a volcano movie with the winds gushing and the fire everywhere. It was rough,” Calvin said.

When he returned the next day, the three homes were destroyed and McClendon’s car was still in front of her house, he said.

Calvin called for a wellness check from authorities, but they did not find her. Calvin said a cousin came to help search for his sister and found her remains in her bedroom.

Arthur Simoneau

Arthur Simoneau, “who made a strong impression on everybody he met,” died trying to protect his home when a wildfire broke out last week in Pacific Palisades, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family.

He was an “unbelievably kind person to his core that had a magnetic pull” on people, his family said in a GoFundMe post.

Simoneau, 69, was returning from a ski trip to California’s Mammoth Mountain when he learned of the evacuation orders, his longtime friend and fellow hang glider pilot, Steve Murrillo, told the Los Angeles Times.

His family said Simoneau decided to stay at his Topanga home in the Santa Monica Mountains, which he built by hand, and which was a huge point of pride for him, the newspaper reported.

The home was destroyed in the wildfire and Simoneau was found dead Thursday near the doorway, Murillo told the Times.

CNN has reached out to Simoneau’s family for comment. The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said a fire victim, who has not been identified, was found on the same block where Simoneau lived.

“Unfortunately, he died in the Palisades fire protecting his house doing what he did best,” according to the GoFundMe page. “Being a badass and doing something only he was brave enough (or crazy enough) to do.”

Simoneau, who was a hang glider pilot for four decades, was soft-spoken and quirky, the Times reported.

“He was a denizen of Topanga. He fit in good,” Malury Silberman, a friend who met him through the Sylmar Hang Gliding Association told the Times. “Kind of a grown-up hippie — never a harsh word out of the guy.”

Kimberly Winiecki

Longtime Altadena resident Kimberly Winiecki and close friend Jeannette McMahon had dinner the night of January 6, the day before the Eaton Fire erupted.

“What we didn’t know,” McMahon said, was that it would be “our farewell dinner.”

Winiecki, 77, has been identified as a victim of the Los Angeles County wildfires, McMahon told CNN.

McMahon said she tried to get Winiecki to evacuate the night after they had dinner. She could see the fire from her home, with winds picking up.

“‘Kim, I need to come pick you up,’” McMahon told CNN she wrote in a text.

“’I’m fine. I’m calm,’” she recalled her friend responding.

McMahon said she couldn’t reach Winiecki after January 7. She eventually spoke with Winiecki’s brother, who informed her officials had notified him of Winiecki’s death.

“She was a very intelligent woman, just so sensitive and expressive. She was a writer and a delight to be with. It was such a joy to be around her,” McMahon said of her friend.

For the last 20 years, McMahon and Winiecki met at least twice a week.

“I had many parties; dinner parties and gatherings and Kim was a part of them. She didn’t like being in pictures, but she used to love taking photos of our gatherings and table settings and sending the photos to her sister. I’ll miss her insightfulness and wittiness,” McMahon said.

Jeffrey Takeyama

Palisades Fire victim Jeffrey Takeyama, 69, is being remembered by his loved ones as a protector.

“Jeff wasn’t just a husband, father, grandfather, and friend—he was the protector of our home and our neighborhood,” his family shared on a verified GoFundMe campaign. “In every fire before this one, including the 1993 blaze, he worked tirelessly to keep us and our neighbors safe.”

However, Takeyama’s family said this time, the fire was different.

“Our father’s absence leaves a hole in our family that can never be filled,” the family said. They’re now working to rebuild the life of Takeyama’s wife, Jane, who lost everything when their family home of 41 years was destroyed in the fire.

“The neighborhood will never be the same, and rebuilding her life feels like an insurmountable challenge,” the family said.

The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner confirmed Takeyama’s death and listed his place of death as his residence in Malibu.

Mark Shterenberg

Mark Shterenberg, 80, worked hard to provide for his family before dying during the Palisades Fire last week, according to his granddaughter.

Six years after emigrating from the Soviet Union to Chicago in 1980 with his wife and daughter, the family moved to Los Angeles. The family purchased their Pacific Palisades home in 1993.

“When they came here, they didn’t have a dollar to their name and didn’t speak a word of English,” said Tatiana Bedi, 29.

He “worked every single day of his life” and saved money “to build a life for his family,” Bedi told CNN.

On January 7, Bedi called and texted Shterenberg about the fires, knowing he wouldn’t want to evacuate. Shterenberg, who was alone in his home, didn’t respond.

Around 9:30 p.m., Shterenberg texted his wife saying their street was still safe.

Two hours later, Shterenberg texted a friend saying the fire was now on their street.

Bedi filed a missing person report the next day. On January 11, she was notified remains were found in the house – right next to Shterenberg’s glasses.

“When I got the news, I think I realized like how much hope I had been holding out that he was still alive and was like somewhere in a shelter or hospital,” Bedi said. “It’s just one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt.”

Shterenberg appeared tough on the outside but was the “biggest teddy bear of a person” on the inside, his granddaughter said. His motto was “study math, keep money in the bank and do three good things every day,” she shared.

Miva Friedli

Miva Friedli, 86, known to her family for being “spicy,” has been identified as the latest victim of the Eaton Fire, according to CNN affiliate KABC.

April Howell, Friedli’s grandniece, said the Altadena resident was adored by her family, according to KABC.

“We have a huge, huge family and she’s just one of the staples as one of our older aunts,” Howell told the news organization. “The family had come back to try to get her, but I’ve seen the videos. Both sides of the street are on fire, things are exploding everywhere, and there was just no way to get through.”

Another niece of Friedli’s, Angela Johnson, posted on her Facebook page authorities notified them and “advised they have located Aunt Miva’s remains.”

“We are all saddened by the news but rejoice in knowing that she is with the lord,” Johnson said.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department identified Friedli as an at-risk missing person, according to their Facebook page. In the missing person’s bulletin, she was last in contact with family near her home in the 80 block of W. Mariposa St. in Altadena.

Carolyn Burns

Carolyn Burns, 56, was an Altadena resident previously reported missing, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Burns died at her home on January 10 from smoke inhalation and “thermal injuries,” a report from the medical examiner’s office shows.

“Carolyn is bedridden and her family is concerned for her well-being and asking for the public’s help,” according to the missing person’s notice from the county sheriff’s department.

Edwin Cridland

Edwin Cridland, 94, died at a home in Altadena on January 11, becoming one of the latest victims of the devastating Eaton Fire sweeping through the Los Angeles area to be identified, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Cridland was fondly remembered as a “kind soul” by his friend of 34 years, Dennis Chapman.

“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 said in an interview with CNN affiliate KABC.

Oswald “Ozzie” Gerhard Altmetz

Oswald “Ozzie” Gerhard Altmetz, a 75-year-old Altadena resident, was remembered as an amazing dad and grandfather.

Tressa Eccher, 54, said she could not get a hold of her stepfather on January 8 after the Eaton Fire broke out in Altadena.

“Called anybody we could know, we could find, to see if they had spoken to him, and we didn’t have any luck with that,” Eccher told CNN in an interview January 20.

“One of his friends had spoken to him earlier that morning, and after that we didn’t know.”

Eccher said she and her family called hospitals, shelters and the Red Cross, but there was no luck on learning Altmetz’s whereabouts.

The family believes remains found on Altmetz’s property on January 12 seem now to confirm their worst fears, but the damage caused by the fire makes it difficult to verify it is actually him, Eccher said.

“I think the hardest part right now is he’s still unidentified,” Eccher said. “They are continuing to run DNA tests, so we are hoping (he can be) confirmed and identified.” The Los Angeles Medical examiner has an unidentified wildfire victim case on the same block that Ozzie lived on.

Eccher, who grew up with Altmetz in Altadena, said he was an “amazing dad.”

They lived in the house Altmetz moved into when his family immigrated from Germany.

“He had lived there his whole life, that was his everything,” Eccher said.

Altmetz, who ran his own business as an auto body man, loved jazz music and cars, Eccher said.

“He was just amazing man, kind to his friends, kind to his family,” Eccher said. “He loved his pets…If he had one last morsel of food it would go to those pets before him.”

Barbara Lewis

Barbara Lewis, an 84-year-old woman who was last seen in Altadena, was pronounced dead on January 15, authorities said.

Lewis died from inhalation and thermal injuries, the Los Angeles County Medical’s Examiners Office said.

As the Eaton Fire spread, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shared a missing person notice about Lewis.

“Ms. Lewis has impaired memory and her family is concerned for her well-being and asking for the public’s help,” the notice said.

Her last known location was on East Palm Street in Altadena, according to the sheriff’s department.

Lora Swayne

Lora Swayne, 71, died at a residence on January 12 from inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injuries, according to the county medical examiner. She lived in the area of the Eaton Fire, officials said.

She last contacted her family at 3:42 a.m. January 7, according to a missing person notice shared earlier by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Betty O’Meara

Betty O’Meara, 94, was pronounced dead on January 9, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. She died from inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injuries, the office said.

Diana Webb

Diana Webb, 82, was pronounced dead on January 14, and died from inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injuries, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department earlier shared a missing person notice about Webb.

The notice said that Webb last contacted her family on January 9 at 8:30 p.m. and her last known location was on Pacific Coast Highway in the city of Malibu, the sheriff’s department said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.