A California man who died trying to put out the flames encroaching his property with a garden hose uttered tragic final words to his sister: ‘Let me just sit here.’
Out-of-control wildfires have been roaring across parts of Los Angeles – burning down hundreds of homes, prompting nearly 180,000 residents to evacuate across the country and tragically killing 10 people.
Victor Shaw, 66, is among those who lost their lives across the city, dying amid the flames that engulfed his Altadena home.
‘I can’t imagine what he might have been thinking, how he might have been so frightened,’ Shari Shaw, Victor’s sister, told ABC News.
‘And I couldn’t be here, I couldn’t be here to save him. I couldn’t be here, that’s what hurts the most.’
The Eaton Fire broke out in Altadena, an area north of Pasadena, on Tuesday – quickly growing to more than 13,000 acres and destroying up to 5,000 structures.
Upon hearing the news, Shari, a 62-year-old graphic designer living in Pasadena, drove to her older brother’s home on Tuesday evening to help him back some family belongings before bringing him to safety, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Victor Shaw, 66, was killed in the Eaton wildfire that broke out on Tuesday. His last words were ‘let me just sit here for a few minutes’
The Eaton Fire broke out in Altadena, an area north of Pasadena, on Tuesday – quickly growing to more than 13,000 acres and destroying up to 5,000 structures
When she arrived at the modest bungalow her brother had been living in since 1965, she found him watching the news and becoming frustrated at the devastation of the fires.
Victor, who suffered from diabetes and chronic kidney disease, took his seizure medication to calm him down as Shari packed wedding photos, important documents, essential medication and an overnight kit.
But around 2 am, Shari was met with the sight of flames on the hillside and thick orange smoke as she loaded up her SUV.
Seconds later, a house just a block away began to catch on fire – and embers began to descend on the cul de sac.
‘We have to get out of here!’ Shari screamed after running back into the home.
She shook her brother, who drifted off to sleep, but he didn’t stir.
‘Victor, the fire is coming close,’ she said. ‘It’s not safe to stay.’
‘OK, let me just sit here for a few minutes,’ he responded. Heartbreakingly, those would be Victor’s last words.
Shari Shaw, Victor’s sister, 62, begged her older brother to flee with her as she watched the embers begin to descend on the cul de sac but he didn’t stir
William Jackson, Victor’s neighbor, searched through the debris and found Victor’s body in the rubble on the walkway of the front door – a garden hose still in his hand
‘There’s no time to sit here!’ Shari pleaded with her brother. ‘We have to get out!’
Panic led Shari to jump in her car and drive down the road where she spotted a police officer and urged him to help get her brother out of the house.
The officer denied her pleas, warned her to not go back up the road and drove off.
In a desperate attempt to save her brother, she decided to ignore the officer’s warning and try to rouse Victor one more time.
But the thick smoke only allowed Shari to make it halfway back up the road and she ultimately fled as the embers began raining down on her car.
‘I couldn’t do it,’ Shari told the LA Times. ‘At that point, I just prayed that he got out.’
Her calls to Victor went straight to voicemail throughout the entirety of the night, and the next morning she received a text from one of his neighbor’s that ‘there’s nothing left’.
She was informed her that her brother’s car was still in the driveway so she headed back to her family home.
Victor’s home – which has been in his family for more than half a century – was completely gone
Victor’s tragic death makes the LA wildfire death toll at least 10 – but the county sheriff’s office believes that the number will rise as investigators continue to look through the devastation for human remains
The bungalow that had been in their family for more than half a century was completely gone.
‘It was utter, utter destruction, just like Armageddon,’ Shari told the LA Times. ‘Everything was leveled.’
‘There was no house that was still standing, except for one house. But other than that, everything was still smoldering, and there were burnt cars and trees, just chimneys standing,’ she added, ‘It was awful.’
Shari told her neighbor’s son about her brother, who then went walking into the debris.
Although Shari survived the devastating night, her tragically brother perished.
But he died a hero.
William Jackson, the neighbor, kept calling Victor’s name as he scoured around the unrecognizable street.
He found Victor’s body in the rubble on the walkway of the front door – a garden hose still in his hand.
As of early morning on Thursday, the cause of the massive Eaton Fire was still under investigation
The Eaton Fire was one of four large and active wildfires in the Los Angeles area
‘He might have felt like he was trying to do the right thing and attempting to put out the flames,’ Shari said. ‘I don’t know if he truly believed he could, but I know he tried.’
She immediately recognized her brother’s green sweatpants but couldn’t find it in her to get any closer to his body.
‘I fell to the ground, and I didn’t know – I didn’t want to look at him,’ Shari told KTLA News.
‘They just told me he was laying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace.’
Victor, who was a former courier driver, had been dealing with breathing issues – leading several different heartbreaking scenarios to run rampant in Shari’s mind.
‘It just plays in my head,’ she told the Times. ‘Had I been able to go back or stay five more minutes, would it have made a difference?’
She wondered whether the smoke asphyxiated him or if he may have lost his balance and fallen.
Overall, she wondered whether things could have happened differently.
Al Tanner, Victor’s family friend, told KTLA that he believes he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years before he died
Shari’s calls to Victor went straight to voicemail throughout the entirety of the night, and the next morning she received a text from one of his neighbor’s that ‘there’s nothing left’
‘Maybe I could have carried him?’ Shari questioned. ‘Maybe some superpower hero power would overwhelm me – an adrenaline rush or something maybe would have kicked in?’
Despite the devastating loss, Shari carries gratitude in knowing the relationship she had with her brother that had become significantly closer after their mother passed in 2020.
The pair would enjoy each other’s company on weekend trips to Reno, Lake Tahoe, San Diego and Palm Springs – all with Victor behind the wheel due to his love of different US cities and his fascination with Route 66.
‘You know, when you’re younger, you don’t really appreciate your sibling,’ Shari said. ‘As we got older, our relationship developed… he was a good guy.’
On Thursday, the sound of chain saws hacking at toppled trees and charred remains of gutted homes by emergency crews as they searched for human remains was all that was heard.
A county medical examiner van parked on Monterosa Drive, about a mile east, served as a grim reminder of death.
Miles away, on the shores of Malibu, investigators searched a scorched fountain along the Pacific Coast Highway for more bodies.
The flames of the Palisades and Eaton blazes forced thousands from their home – leading some to abandon their cars in a panic as the streets became quickly congested.
On Thursday, the sound of chain saws hacking at toppled trees and charred remains of gutted homes by emergency crews as they searched for human remains was all that was heard after the Eaton fire
In both Pasadena and Altadena, residents were ordered to evacuate shortly after the Eaton fire broke out but the strong winds fueled the flames to quickly grow out of control
In both Pasadena and Altadena, residents were ordered to evacuate shortly after the Eaton fire broke out but the strong winds fueled the flames to quickly grow out of control – making it difficult if not impossible for firefighters to tackle its power.
One resident, who lives in Pasadena, said that it took nearly 30 minutes to drive 10 blocks after the evacuation order came through as people were ‘desperately trying to get out’, the Times reported.
The speed of the fire led to other challenges – including those who may have not gotten out in time or those who never responded to the warnings.
‘Some people choose not to heed the evacuation order, so they’re staying,’ Anthony Marrone, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief, told LA Times. ‘And then some people don’t get the evacuation order.’
‘Some people have disability challenges and mobility challenges that they need help evacuating.’
Ten people’s lives were ripped away so far from the firestorms that burned through the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other surrounding communities this week.
‘Our firefighters are out putting out the remnants of the fires in these structures when they’re coming across these victims,’ Anthony Marrone, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief, told LA Times.
But the county sheriff’s office believes that the death toll will rise as investigators search through the burnt rubble and thousands of destroyed homes.
The speed of the Eaton fire led to other challenges – including those who may have not gotten out in time or those who never responded to the warnings
One resident, who lives in Pasadena, said that it took nearly 30 minutes to drive 10 blocks after the evacuation order came through as people were ‘desperately trying to get out’
Dr. Odey Ukpo, the chief medical examiner of Los Angeles County, said that dental records or DNA will be essential for the identification process of victims as most fire victims are, ‘for a lack of a better word, charred’ – their fingerprints and facial features generally having been wiped away with the flames.
As of early morning on Thursday, the cause of the massive Eaton Fire was still under investigation.
The Eaton Fire was one of four large and active wildfires in the Los Angeles area – the largest being the 17,234-acre Palisades Fire which destroyed roughly 1,000 structures.
