As a shocked and grieving Los Angeles faces intense wildfires, worried families anxiously wait for updates from ongoing house-to-house searches.

This somber operation commenced as the fierce Santa Ana winds slowed, which had previously transformed the fires into raging infernos that devastated neighborhoods, business areas, and hillside communities.

“I don’t anticipate any positive news,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “The destruction in these areas looks like it came from an atomic bomb.”

While officials have yet to publicly identify the deceased, some information is beginning to emerge through news outlets and social media.

There are heartbreaking stories, such as one man found with a garden hose in hand, a grandmother who remained in her cherished home despite her family’s urgings to evacuate, and a father discovered alongside his son, who had cerebral palsy, inside a bedroom.

As of Friday, there have been 11 confirmed fatalities, but officials anticipate that number to increase as search efforts progress across the extensive metropolitan area, with many regions still deemed unsafe for access.

Here are some details about those who tragically lost their lives in these fires.

Erliene L. Kelley, last seen looking ‘like an angel’

Briana Navarro, the granddaughter of Erliene L. Kelley, shared on X that their family home in Altadena was threatened by the encroaching wildfire.

Navarro, speaking with the YSL News Network, later shared the heartbreaking news that their home was lost and expressed her hopes of finding her grandmother.

“I last spoke with her at 1:30 AM. She texted my dad at 3 AM indicating they were evacuating, but that was the last we heard from her.”

However, evacuation never happened. “When my dad was about to leave my grandma’s house, he found her sitting in her room in white pajamas, in the dark, holding a flashlight to her face,” Navarro recounted.

“He said he had never seen her so peaceful in her life. I remarked that she looked like an angel, with the light shining on her giving the appearance of a halo.”

By 8:50 PM, Navarro confirmed her grandmother had passed away. On a GoFundMe page, she shared memories of her family and her grandmother alongside images of their home reduced to ashes. “We have lost everything in the fire and are heartbroken.”

Victor Shaw: Protecting his family’s legacy

Victor Shaw’s life was claimed when the Eaton Fire swept through his longtime family home in Altadena, which had stood for 55 years, as reported by relatives to KTLA-TV. His family discovered his body on a roadside near their home, the garden hose still clasped in his hand.

According to KTLA, Shaw shared this home with his younger sister, who had pleaded with him to evacuate when the rest of the family left following official evacuation notices. The 66-year-old had health issues that hindered his mobility, according to his sister.

Rodney Nickerson, retired aerospace engineer and devoted deacon

Rodney Nickerson remained in his home…
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He had experienced other fires back in 1968 and chose to endure this one as well, as his daughter shared with KTLA-TV.

However, his residence was located in the same Altadena neighborhood as Shaw’s and Kelley’s, and he unfortunately lost his life in the fire as well, as confirmed by family members to The New York Times. At 82, Nickerson was a retired aerospace engineer from Lockheed Martin and still actively served as a dean in his church.

The Nickerson family was well known in the community, as his son mentioned to the Times: His grandfather established an insurance company, Golden State Mutual Life, and a housing development in Los Angeles’s Watts neighborhood, which bears the name Nickerson Gardens in his honor.

Anthony Mitchell and Justin Mitchell, father and son

On Wednesday morning, Anthony Mitchell informed his daughter, Hajiime White, during a phone call that the fire had reached his yard. He was preparing to evacuate with his son, Justin, who was confined to bed due to cerebral palsy and communicated through a computer.

Sadly, they were unable to escape.

In a heartfelt Facebook post, White expressed her grief, writing, “My daddy and baby brother is Gonneee!!”

Cousin Rita Cook told CBS News that the family is still coming to terms with the tragedy. “Anthony was such a wonderful person, a businessman, a family man,” she said, adding he was truly “one of a kind.”