Los Angeles fire claims lives of man with disability and his father, who stayed with son to await help

CV NEWS FEED // A father’s love compelled him to stay with his son instead of evacuating the Los Angeles Eaton Fire alone last week, according to recent reports.

On Jan. 7, in need of evacuation help as the fire spread, Anthony Mitchell stayed behind with his son Justin, who has cerebral palsy, and waited for an ambulance. But first responders in the region were overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, and both the father and son perished before help arrived.

By Jan. 12, at least 24 people had died from the Los Angeles fires, which began Jan. 7.

Justin Mitchell’s younger brother Jordan said their father called 911 when the fire broke out, according to local news outlet KSNB 4.

“However, resources were stretched thin with dozens of evacuations across the community, as the fire burned down homes miles away from where it started,” KSNB 4 reported. 

Jordan said he was unable to help his family that day because he was sick in a hospital. He described the situation as his “worst nightmare.” 

By the early morning of Jan. 8, the fire had burned down Anthony’s home, while he and his son were still inside. 

“Anthony Mitchell was found by the side of his son Justin, who was in his early 20s and suffered cerebral palsy, in Altadena, California,” the Daily Mail reported Jan. 10. 

Justin’s older brother Anthony Jr. told NPR that his father and Justin both used wheelchairs. Because his father had a prosthetic leg, however, Anthony Jr. explained that his father could have escaped. Instead, he chose to remain with Justin. 

“He could have got himself in the wheelchair and he could have rolled himself out [of] the fire zone, but he wasn’t going to leave my brother,” Anthony Jr. said. “There was no way my father was going to leave him. He wouldn’t leave any of his kids.”

As CatholicVote previously reported, the Archbishop of Los Angeles has urged for continuous prayers for the victims of the fire and those battling to contain it. Pope Francis last week expressed that he is spiritually close to those affected and sent condolences for those mourning the loss of loved ones to the fire. 

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