Victims of fire didn’t evacuate when notified
When 25-mph winds pushed the deadly Valley Fire through the dry hills of Lake County, residents had little time to flee. In some cases, they could hardly pause to think.
On Wednesday, as authorities revealed they had found a fourth body amid the ruins of a blaze that was described as a fast-moving tornado, they also made clear that at least three of the deaths shared a tragic common element — victims who, for one reason or another, declined to take off immediately when first warned by police, neighbors or loved ones.
“It appears they didn’t leave once they received notice to evacuate,” said Lt. Steve Brooks with the Lake County Sheriff ’s Office. “When they say evacuate, it’s time to go.”
It’s not an unusual story in California wildfires. Residents stay because they don’t think the flames will reach them, or because they want to save pets and livestock, or because they want to protect their homes. They know that, once they leave, they might not be able to return for a while, even if their neighborhood is untouched.
Lake County sheriff ’s officials said they hadn’t positively identified the fourth body but believe it belongs to Robert Fletcher, a 66-year-old resident of the community of Cobb. The area was ravaged by the fire, which as of Wednesday was 80 percent contained after destroying 1,325 homes and businesses and blackening 76,000 acres.
Last seen Sept. 10
A family member last heard from Fletcher on Sept. 10, two days before the blaze ignited. When his home in Cobb was found leveled, relatives feared the worst. While details of the death are being investigated, deputies said Fletcher may have had advance warning of the impending firestorm.
On the afternoon of Sept. 12, sheriff ’s deputies and fire officials fanned out across the rural roads beneath Cobb Mountain, where the fire started, to sound the alarm. They knocked on doors and blew bullhorns as flames rushed into wooded neighborhoods and rural subdivisions. County officials also set in motion their automated emergency calling system.
Residents and authorities described a chaotic scramble to escape in which cars backed up on narrow, mountain roads along Highway 175. Some abandoned vehicles amid traffic and sought rides with others. Some fled to creeks or golf courses before they were rescued.
Fast-moving blaze
In the initial 12 hours, the Valley Fire ripped through hundreds of homes and more than 60 square miles between the communities of Cobb and Middletown. But not everyone rushed off.
Sheriff ’s deputies said Leonard Neft, 69, of Anderson Springs and Bruce Beven Burns of Hidden Valley Lake were notified of the fire either by a phone call, a visiting official or a neighbor and told to evacuate, but didn’t. Barbara McWilliams, who was 72 and suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis, was also warned by neighbors to leave, according to her caretaker. All three appear to have died in the fire, authorities said.
Deputies are searching for a possible fifth victim, 61-year-old Robert Litchman, who they say was told to leave his home in the Seigler Canyon area on Sept. 12.
“People like to say they can take care of their homes and prepare them for fire, but seriously, they cannot,” said Scott McLean, a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, noting that the speed of the Valley Fire made second-guessing the evacuation orders all but impossible. “There was so much fire, with so much intensity, that you didn’t stand a chance.”
Not enforceable
Despite authorities issuing so-called mandatory evacuations, making someone leave their home is generally not enforceable. It’s also not practical when so many people need to leave.
“If they’re giving you an evacuation order, whether they call it mandatory or not, you go,” McLean said. “You don’t sit there and think about it, you go now.”
McWilliams, whose remains were the first to be found in the wake of the fire, had difficulty getting around because of her multiple sclerosis, and leaving her house was difficult, according to her caretaker.
When neighbors stopped by to see if she wanted a ride to safety on Sept. 12, she declined the offer. Her caretaker said she didn’t think the fire was coming her way.
Burns was found in a trailer where he lived beside a scrap yard along Highway 29. Why he didn’t leave is not clear. The blaze didn’t overcome the Hidden Valley Lakes area until hours after its ignition miles away in Cobb.
Neft, a retired newspaper reporter who lived down the street from McWilliams on Rose Anderson Road, also didn’t heed initial warnings.
According to his wife, Adela Neft, who was in close contact with him, he received an automated phone call advising him to evacuate but told her it was voluntary. She called him later, after seeing media reports of the blaze, and told him to flee.
Over the next few hours, Adela Neft said, she continued to monitor the news and finally told her husband, “You need to leave.” But Neft looked out his windows and told her he didn’t see or smell smoke, and that he didn’t think the fire was coming toward him. During that call, though, she persuaded him to pack up his car.
In their last conversation, a little before 8 p.m., Adela Neft could tell her husband was growing frightened. “He must have saw something,” she said. “I could hear he was scared in his voice. He said he didn’t know if he could leave now.”
He told her he’d try to drive out to the Geysers geothermal complex, where it might be safe. His vehicle was found just down the road from his home, and a body, presumed to be his, was found nearby.
Adela knows people have criticized Leonard for not leaving but, “It wasn’t because he was stubborn. It’s just he didn’t feel threatened.”
Two deaths reported in the Butte Fire in Amador and Calaveras counties also occurred after evacuation orders were given. Mark McCloud, 66, and Owen Goldsmith, 82, died after they declined to leave their homes, according to Cal Fire.