'You've got to come get us': Man's devastation as wife, great-grandkids killed in wildfires
A devastated great-grandfather has revealed his heartbreak at not being able to save his wife of 27 years and their two great-grandchildren from horrific fires in Northern California.
James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her great-grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when walls of flames swept through the family’s rural property on Thursday on the outskirts of Redding, 350 kilometres north of San Francisco.
Ms Bledsoe’s husband of 27 years, Eddy, told ABC 10 that the death of his wife and great-grandchildren is devastating.
“All she lived for were them kids and me,” he said.
“Every day, every day of her and my life, I told her, ‘I want to thank you for being my lady’.”
Mr Bledsoe was with the trio the night before flames destroyed the home – he went to a nearby shop, but when he tried to return, “within 15 minutes”, the fire had taken a hold of the house and all the roads were closed.
He said James told him, “you’ve got to come get us” on the phone.
But there was nothing he could do. He turned to Facebook after calling authorities, hospitals and evacuation centres to try and find his wife and the two kids but nothing came up until he was called to the coroner’s office to identify three bodies on Saturday.
The three were among more than a dozen people reported missing after the furious wind-driven blaze took residents by surprise and levelled several neighbourhoods.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said he expects to find several of those people alive and just out of touch with loved ones. Officers have gone to homes of several people reported missing and found cars gone — a strong indication they fled.
The fire sparked Monday by a vehicle in forested hills had scorched 340 square kilometres by late Saturday, up slightly from 327 square kilometres in the morning.
It pushed southwest of Redding, the largest city in the region, toward the tiny communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point, where scorching heat, winds and bone-dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts.
Mum’s warning to husband about baby’s seatbelt moments before car crash
Woman’s inspiring journey from surviving pirate attack as a refugee to business success
It’s now the largest fire burning in California.
Two firefighters were killed in the blaze, including a bulldozer operator who was helping clear vegetation in the wildfire’s path. He was identified as Don Ray Smith, 81, of Pollock Pines. Redding fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was also killed, but details of his death were not released.
About 38,000 people were under evacuation orders, 5,000 homes were threatened and the fire was just five per cent contained.
The latest tally of 536 destroyed structures was up from 500 earlier in the day, and sure to rise. A count by The Associated Press found at least 300 of those structures were homes.
Meanwhile, about 160 kilometres southwest of Redding, two blazes prompted mandatory evacuations in Mendocino County.
The two fires, burning 50 kilometres apart, started Friday and were threatening more than 350 buildings.
California Fire officials said more than 10,000 firefighters were on the line, making progress on 14 large wildfires across California.
President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state Saturday, allowing counties affected by wildfires to receive federal assistance.
A GoFund Me page has been created for the Bledsoe family.
With Associated Press
