A son rushed to his elderly father during the late Eaton. He arrived a day too late

On January 7, the day the late Eaton sparked in the mountains of San Gabriel, Xiaoyong “Shaw” Zhao received a call from his father in Altadena around 12:30 pm, asking him what type of food he should prepare for his next visit.

It would be the last time Shaw spoke with his father.

Shaw, who lives in Portland, Oregon, rushed to Altadena but arrived a day too late, arriving after the fire won the life of her 84 -year -old father and left his home a charred heap.

The Chinese retired immigrant – a widower – experienced one of the 29 people killed in devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. His son, Shaw, joined other fire victims to submit legal action last month against southern California Edison, accusing the usefulness of negligence, violation of health and security codes and not maintaining its vegetation and equipment.

“My father was a man of strength, intelligence and perseverance,” said Shaw.

Long before the breakdown of fires, Shaw had planned a trip to visit his father, Zhi Feng Zhao, in Altadena. Shaw had bought a plane ticket for January 8. During the previous afternoon call, Shaw told his father that he didn’t need anything special to eat and that he would be late.

Later in the same day, Shaw received an SMS from his father’s neighbor, the alert on forest fires. He went online to see what was the situation and saw that his father’s street was not under any prescription or evacuation warning.

Around 8 p.m., Shaw called his father twice but he did not resume. Zhao was not good with phones – he mainly used a fixed line and had a mobile phone, but rarely answered messages or picked up calls. His father also had hearing problems and took medication for sleeping to help him fall asleep.

“I said to myself, let him keep sleeping,” said Shaw. “I will monitor the online situation.”

Around 5 am, Shaw returned online and saw that everything had changed: an evacuation prescription had been issued in the district of his father around 3 am, he called his father immediately but received No answer.

Shaw moved his flight until earlier in the afternoon on January 8. He landed around 7 p.m. in Burbank and went up to a Lyft car, sharing his story with the driver. The Lyft driver proposed to drive Shaw as close as possible from his father’s street so that he can look for him.

They finally reached a police barricade and were not allowed to go to his father’s home on Tonia Avenue. Shaw then went to the Pasadena Convention Center, which served as an evacuation shelters for displaced residents. He spent the night, walking from bed to bed in search of his father in vain.

“After this effort, I already knew that it was not a good sign,” said Shaw. “I could not find him and I had not received any call from him.”

On January 9, the same driver of Lyft offered to bring Shaw back to his father’s neighborhood. They arrived in Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road and from there, walked for about 90 minutes with his father.

The whole district had been destroyed by the fire. His father’s home had been completely reduced to Ash.

“Each house on both sides of the street had disappeared, except one,” said Shaw. “It was very dark, just like a war area.”

Shaw saw a coyote in the courtyard before his father and his stomach fell. Lyft’s driver finally found his father’s remains near where the animal had been. They immediately called 911.

His father’s remains were in the same position as when he sleeps, suggesting that he died in bed, said Shaw.

“It was a preventable tragedy,” said Robert Jarchi, a lawyer representing Shaw. “None of this had to happen. In the history of southern California, forest fires killed people, who destroyed houses and communities following the infrastructure of public services which were not deactivated or deactivated during events of wind. »»

Kathleen Dunleavy, spokesperson for Southern California Edison, told Times that the investigation was at its beginnings.

“Our hearts go to all those who have been affected by forest fires in southern California,” she said. “South of California Edison will continue to investigate the possible involvement of our equipment.

The public service has recognized this week that “the information and the data was revealed, such as the videos of external parties of the first stages of the fire, suggesting a possible link with the equipment of SCE, that the company takes seriously” , according to a press release.

SCE said that he had not “identified typical or obvious indications that would support this association, such as broken drivers, fresh arc brands in the preliminary area, or proof of defects on the lines energized that cross this area ”.

This week, SCE also pointed out to state regulators that its equipment may have triggered the Hurst fire, which burned nearly 800 acres in Sylmar last month. SCE did not determine where the late Eaton has ignited, but said that he explored all the data and information.

Four power lines on Eaton Canyon had experienced a brief increase in electric current at a time when the fire triggered, public service said in a separate file.

Zhao grew up in rural China and his parents died at the age of four, according to Shaw. Zhao studied at the University of Beijing and finally moved to Shanghai, where he met Shaw’s mother.

Zhao immigrated to California in the late 1980s and settled in Altadena. He encouraged Shaw to pursue computers as a major in college.

Shaw and his parents moved into Altadena’s house in September 2005. Shaw moved to Oregon when he obtained a new job, and his parents stayed in Los Angeles. His mother died during the cocovated pandemic, leaving her father to live there alone.