Dad won’t leave his wheelchair-bound son behind; they were both killed in the LA fire

Anthony Mitchell, who relied on wheelchairs for movement, watched helplessly as his neighbourhood and house were destroyed by the roaring fires in Los Angeles. In order to evacuate him and Justin, who had cerebral palsy, the father waited for help, but it never arrived.

Hajime White was reminiscing about her father’s reaction to a post she had made on Facebook in April 2021. You wouldn’t comprehend that it’s a father/daughter situation. (Yes, everyone, this is my dad),” she writes in the message, which also includes a picture of herself and 68-year-old Anthony Mitchell.

In the comments area, the loving father of four enthusiastically declares his love for his daughter: “She is my heart my soul she is a daddy girl.” She embodies all the qualities a father may hope his daughter will possess.Every day, she makes me proud, and I am incredibly grateful and honoured to be her father (SIC).

The bereaved daughter reposted the image on January 14, 2024, adding the new message, “A father’s love for his daughter is truly special.” I’m grateful, Dad. You took the time to write this in my post’s comments section for everyone to read, even though you said it often.

The terrible wildfires in California have claimed the lives of 24 people, including her father and her younger brother Justin.

Mitchell made heartbreaking phone calls to two of his kids on the morning of January 8 to let them know that he and his youngest son, Justin, were waiting for assistance to leave. Wheelchairs were necessary for Justin, who had cerebral palsy, and Mitchell, who was amputee and had a prosthetic leg.

Mitchell and his two boys, Justin and Jordan, resided in Altadena, a densely populated district adjacent to Pasadena. The older son assisted as a carer alongside qualified experts.

However, Mitchell, who lost his leg to diabetes in 2024, was unable to transport his bedridden son to one of the numerous cars parked in the driveway in order to flee, and Jordan was not at home that week since he was in the hospital with sepsis.

Mitchell had promised his only daughter, Hajime, that he and Justin would be alright and had summoned an ambulance to help with the evacuation. Hajime, from Arkansas, tells the New York Post of her final chat with her father, who was well-known and adored in the community where he spent more than two decades,

“They’ll get me and your brother.” He told 50-year-old Hajime that he could see the fire spreading swiftly through the neighbourhood from his window and added, “Hopefully they should come soon.” However, the discussion was interrupted when Hajime claimed that flames had infiltrated his home’s garden. “I have to go, baby,” he said to his daughter. “The garden just caught fire.”

The father and son’s remains were found that night in the house that had been burned by the Eaton fire, which has been burning for more than a week.

Anthony Jr., Mitchell’s oldest son, understands why his father remained in the flaming house. The 46-year-old Anthony Jr. told the New York Times, “He wasn’t going to leave my brother.” He would never abandon his children. His legacy was us. His gems were us. Before the fire tore through the house that morning, he called two children, including the junior Anthony.

Although his leg was amputated, he did have a prosthetic. Anthony Sr. told NPR, “He could have rolled himself out of the fire zone and gotten himself into a wheelchair, but he wasn’t going to leave my brother.” My father was not going to abandon him in any way. He refused to abandon any of his children. “I think that’s one of the reasons it cost him his life, because he believed in family, and he wasn’t going to leave my younger brother,” he continues.

Hajime and the family are currently attempting to determine why assistance to rescue Mitchell and Justin never showed up. “Where was the ambulance?” “I said,” she said. “Where had the carers gone to? Where had everyone gone? By the time the Eaton fire started on Tuesday, January 7, “all resources were already dedicated to the raging Palisades fire across town,” according to Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson Carlos Herrera, who spoke to the New York Times.

According to CNN, the catastrophic fire has damaged over 12,000 buildings, scorched over 60 square miles—”an area larger than Paris”—and claimed the lives of at least 24 people. Officials reported that the Palisades and Eaton wildfires were still burning as of January 14.

Parts of the area are predicted to experience “extremely critical fire weather,” with strong winds likely to feed new fires and make it more difficult for firefighters to put out the raging flames. “Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity put much of Southern California, from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, at serious risk of rapid fire spread.” A single spark reduces the likelihood of a wildfire, California Fire posts on Facebook.

We send our condolences to Mitchell’s family and all those affected by the flames. Kindly share your thoughts on this heartbreaking tale with others so that we may all offer Anthony Mitchell’s family our deepest sympathies!