What do we know about LA fire victims?

At least 16 people have died in wildfires in Los Angeles – and the number is feared to rise.

Officials say it could take weeks to identify the victims as conventional methods such as fingerprinting and visual identification are not possible.

Here’s what we know about those who have been reported dead, according to their family members and international media.

Victor Shaw died trying to save his home in Altadena from a wildfire, his family said.

The 66-year-old man’s body was found on the side of his property, holding a garden hose. TV Network KTLA. The property had been in Mr Shaw’s family for about 55 years.

Mr Shaw lived in the house with his younger sister Shari, who said she tried to get him out with her after the fire got close on Tuesday night.

He told KTLA that he refused because he wanted to try to fight the fire, adding that he had to run because “the embers were so hot.” were large and flying like a whirlwind of fire”.

Ms. Shaw told CBS News that she will miss her older brother.

“I will miss talking to him, joking about him, traveling with him and I will miss him to death,” he said. “I just hate that he had to go out like this.”

His mother, Carol Smith, told CNN that Maywood died at his Malibu home.

The 55-year-old told Smith on Tuesday that he had a garden ready to protect the home, where he had lived for decades, from encroaching fires, CNN reported.

“[His home] It was a valuable possession. According to the news outlet, Smith said it was the one and only home he ever owned.

“Now that I understand how many memories he had in that house, I can understand why he didn’t want to leave.”

Randall’s friends have been paying tribute to the longtime Malibu resident on social media, sharing photos of him surfing and his red beach house.

Anthony Mitchell and his adult son, Justin, died in their home in Altadena as they tried to escape the wildfire, their family said.

Hajim White told The Washington Post that he got a call from his 67-year-old father, saying “the yard is on fire”.

Mr Mitchell, a 67-year-old retired salesman and amputee, lived with his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered from cerebral palsy, the newspaper reported.

The Washington Post reported that one of Mr. Mitchell’s sons, Jordan, lived with the couple but was in the hospital with an infection.

Ms White told the paper that she had received the news that Mr Mitchell and Justin had died, adding: “It’s like a ton of bricks have been dropped on me.”

Miss White said Mr Mitchell was a father of four, grandfather of 11 and great-grandfather of 10.

Rodney Nickerson, 83, died at his home in Altadena, according to his daughter, who said her father believed the wildfires would “be over.”

Kimiko Nickerson told KTLA His father bought the property in 1968, and it had burned down several decades earlier.

Rodney worked as a project engineer at Lockheed Martin for 45 years.

Ms. Nixon told CBS News That his father had made the last comment to him: “I’ll be here tomorrow.” He confirmed to the broadcaster that his body had been found.

Annette Rosselli, 85, refused to leave her Pacific Palisades home when she was told to evacuate after the Palisades fire, CNN reported, citing Luxe Homecare, which provided her in-home care. Who was

She was living in her house with her five pets: a dog, a canary, two parrots and a turtle.

Firefighters found Roselli’s body in her car on Wednesday, according to CNN, citing her relatives and Lux ​​Home Care President Fay Wahadani.

The BBC could not independently confirm the report and has contacted Lux ​​Home Care for comment.

The 32-year-old Australian died when a fire broke out in Palisades on Tuesday, his mother Shelley Sykes said in a post on X.

Shelley said she was with her son, who has cerebral palsy, at their 17-acre Malibu estate when the fire broke out.

He added that Rory was in a cottage on the estate and had tried to put out the fire but the water was not coming out of the hose.

“I’m completely heartbroken,” she said.

British-born Rory was born blind and had difficulty walking, but managed to regain her sight and became an “impressive speaker” after learning to walk with the help of surgeries.

He was a former child star, appearing in the British TV series “Kiddy Keepers” in 1998.

Shelley told Australian outlet 9 News she couldn’t pick up her son because his arm was broken.

The family of 83-year-old Erlene Kelly learned late Thursday that she was among the victims. The Los Angeles Times reports.

According to the newspaper, Ms. Kelly’s granddaughter Brianna Navarro said her grandmother was “adamant” that she did not want to leave because previous fires had never reached her home in Altadena.

On Thursday evening, the family learned that authorities had found a body in the rubble of the house. More than 48 hours had passed since Ms Navarro had last heard from her grandmother.