Photo: Getty Images
A 66-year-old man was reportedly trying to save his family's burning home when he was killed in the Los Angeles County wildfires, per KTLA.
Victor Shaw, 66, was found dead outside of his home in Altadena, an area east of Los Angeles near Pasadena that was devastated by the Eaton Fire. Shaw was discovered holding a hosepipe that he had been using to attempt to extinguish the flames engulfing the home he shared with his younger sister, Shari.
Shari said her brother refused to join her as she fled from the Eaton Fire advancing towards their property on Tuesday (January 7).
“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 said. “And I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave.”
According to loved ones, Victor Shaw has difficulty moving due to health problems but was determined to save his home, which has been in the family for more than half a century.
Al Tanner, a friend of the family, said they discovered Shaw's body on Wednesday (January 8).
“I fell to the ground, and I didn’t know – I didn’t want to look at him,” Shari Shaw said. “They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene as if he was at peace.”
The Eaton Fire is one of several wildfires raging around Southern California that have left at least five people dead and thousands of buildings destroyed.
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