Wildfires have ravaged more than 27,000 acres in Southern California, killing seven people and leaving countless others injured.
It’s been three days since the fires erupted and none of them have been contained.
More than 1,000 structures, including homes and local landmarks, have been consumed by the blaze, officials have said.
While an estimated 150,000 people evacuated the region, some haven’t been as lucky. Seven people were killed as a result of the wildfires, officials said.
The majority of the casualties so far, five people, were found in Altadena and Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has raged, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone confirmed to the New York Times. The Eaton fire has rapidly grown to nearly 11,000 acres since it erupted on Tuesday around 6:30 p.m.
Fire crews are now facing the challenge of accessing enough water. Multiple blazes have “pushed the system to the extreme,” one official said Wednesday. LA Mayor Karen Bass pleaded with residents to conserve water when possible so that resources can go toward extinguishing the fires before any more people are lost.
Here’s what we know about the victims.
Victor Shaw
Victor Shaw, 66, was killed in the Eaton fire trying to protect his 55-year-old family home, relatives told KTLA.
Shaw lived with his younger sister Shari Shaw, who tried to push him to evacuate on Tuesday night as the blaze neared.
But he didn’t listen. He told his sister that he wanted to try to fight the fire and defend their home in Altadena.
“When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn’t reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm – I had to save myself,” Shari Shaw told KTLA. “And I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.”
On Wednesday morning, his family found his body near their home; he was holding a hose in his hand, the outlet reported.
A family friend told the outlet: “It looks like he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years.”
“I fell to the ground, and I didn’t know – I didn’t want to look at him,” the sister said. “They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace.”
An unidentified victim in Malibu
On Thursday, Malibu officials added a sixth person to the death toll, the first from the Palisades fire.
The remains were reportedly found in a Malibu home Wednesday night, after a missing persons report led authorities to conduct a welfare check.
“Although the individual has not yet been identified, this tragic news weighs heavily on our hearts,” Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart said in a statement. “On behalf of the City of Malibu, I want to express my deepest condolences to the loved ones of this person. Our community grieves with you in this moment of unimaginable loss.”
By the end of Thursday, a seventh casualty, also from the Palisades fire, had been announced.
