Coroner Confirms 30th Fatality in Los Angeles County Fires

Some victims killed in the Eaton and Palisades fires have yet to be identified, the medical examiner reported.

Damage from the Eaton Fire on the streets of Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 24, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

LOS ANGELES COUNTY--Death investigators uncovered another victim who perished in January’s destructive Eaton Fire, bringing the total number of fatalities during that month’s firestorms to 30, the county coroner confirmed on April 2.

The special response team from the medical examiner’s office responded on Wednesday to a home destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena following a report of possible human remains found at the location, according to the office.

When the six-member team arrived, they conducted an investigation and determined that the remains were human, the medical examiner reported.

It said the death toll related to the wildfires has now reached 18 in the Eaton Fire and 12 in the Palisades Fire.

The medical examiner did not release the victim’s name but said staff is continuing to investigate.

The medical examiner’s office said investigators employ several methods of identification in these cases because of the condition of the remains. That can include dental record comparison, DNA matching, reviewing medical records, or using radiographs to look for medical devices and associated serial numbers.

“The [coroner] also works with law enforcement agencies to gather information on suspected missing persons to conduct follow-up with families,” the office said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said that identifying remains can take “considerable time to confirm.”

Wednesday’s discovery of human remains was the first in more than two months.

The last victim was pronounced dead as a result of the fires on Jan. 25. The medical examiner described the man as Hak Wong, 69, who died in the hospital after suffering blunt force trauma and thermal burns during the Palisades Fire, which destroyed 5,449 homes and damaged 905 others.

Eighteen of the 30 fire victims perished in the Eaton Fire, which started on Jan. 7 and tore through the Altadena community, about 18 miles east of Los Angeles. The county medical examiner’s office was able to identify 13 of them.

The Eaton victims’ identities are Victor Shaw, 66; Rodney Nickerson, 82; Anthony Mitchell, 68; Zhi Feng Zhao, 84; Erliene Kelley, 83; Evelyn McClendon, 59; Carolyn Burns, 56; Dalyce Curry, 95; Edwin Cridland, 94; Oswald Altmetz, 75; Lora Swayne, 71; Patricia McKenna, 77, and Barbara Lewis, 84.

After the Palisades Fire, first responders and clean-up crews clear mud and debris flows caused by heavy rains along Pacific Coast Highway near Los Angeles  on Feb. 14, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

In Pacific Palisades, where the Palisades Fire broke out on Jan. 7 and destroyed 5,419 homes, the medical examiner’s office has reported 12 fire-related deaths.

Eleven victims have been identified. They are Wong; Charles Mortimer, 84; Randall Miod, 55; Betty O’Meara, 94; Annette Rossilli, 85; Arthur Simoneau, 69; Mark Shterenberg, 80; Jeffrey Takeyama, 69; Rory Sykes, 32; Diana Webb, 82; and Elizabeth Morgan, 79.