What we know about the people killed in the California wildfires
Details are starting to emerge of the victims of the Los Angeles fires – and at least two died trying to protect the homes where they raised families for decades.
The number of people killed by the wildfires has increased from 11 to 13, according to officials.
The Eaton fire has killed eight people and the Palisades fire has killed five.
LA fires latest: New evacuation order as 13 confirmed dead
Here is what we know so far about the victims:
Anthony Mitchell. Pic: family photo via NBC News
Anthony and Justin Mitchell
The 67-year-old great-grandfather of 10 died in his Altadena home. His son Justin Mitchell also died.
Justin’s older brother – also called Anthony – told Sky News’s US partner network NBC News: “He probably could have gotten himself out but he wasn’t going to leave my brother.
“He really loved his kids.”
Erliene Louise Kelley. Pic: Briana Novarro via NBC News
Erliene Louise Kelley
Briana Navarro, 33, lived with her grandmother at the family’s Altadena home – along with her husband and two daughters.
Mrs Navarro told NBC News that her husband wanted to leave.
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However Mrs Kelly told them she was fine and decided to stay at the property.
Police confirmed to Mrs Navarro on Thursday night that her grandmother died when the fire engulfed the home.
She said she thinks her grandmother was “at peace” staying in the home she “tended to every day” for more than four decades.
Victor Shaw. Pic: Family photo via ABC News
Victor Shaw
Victor Shaw, 66, was trying to protect his home that had been in the family for over five decades when he was killed Tuesday night in the Eaton Fire.
His sister, Shari Shaw, told ABC News that they lived together in the home, and as the flames started to engulf the property she tried to get him to leave.
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She described how he died in a “heroic attempt” to protect his home in Altadena and that his body was found in front of the home with a garden hose still in his hand.
“I can’t imagine what he might have been thinking, how he might have been so frightened,” Ms Shaw said.
“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.”
Rodney Nickerson. Pic: Kimiko Nickerson via NBC
Rodney Kent Nickerson
Rodney Kent Nickerson, 83, had reassured loved ones that he would be fine as his family and neighbours tried to get him to evacuate his Altadena home.
His daughter Kimiko Nickerson told KCAL News: “My son tried to get him to leave, and my neighbours and myself and he said he’ll be fine, I’ll be here when you guys come back.
“And he said his house would be here.”
Mr Nickerson was outside trying to hose down his property at around 7pm on Tuesday and the last time Ms Nickerson talked to him was on FaceTime just over two hours later.
“His house is here and he was here too. He was in his bed when I found him. His whole body was there intact,” she added.
Rory Sykes. Pic: Shelley Sykes via X
Rory Sykes
The former Australian child star, who was born blind and had cerebral palsy, died on Wednesday after his mother said she was unable to save him from his burning cottage.
Shelley Sykes said it burned down in the Palisades Fire when she “couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose” because of a lack of water.
She told Australia’s 10 News First that she has a broken arm and could not lift or move her son.
Mrs Sykes drove to the local fire department for help and when the fire department brought her back, Rory’s “cottage was burnt to the ground”.
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Elon’s dad on the Musk-Trump bust-up
Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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