Son, Age 14, Dies As Family Of Four Is Escaping California Wildfire

A family of four was running to escape the California wildfire and they ended up losing their 14-year-old son in the process. People shared the details about what happened to their son who died in the fire. The wildfires have now claimed 40 lives including this 14-year-old boy who lost his life while trying to run away from the fire on foot.

Jon, Sara, and their 17-year-old daughter Kressa Shepherd are all recovering after escaping the fire, but their son passed away. Kai Shepherd actually died about 50 feet away from the family. They are all at separate hospitals right now and are getting treated, but do now know yet about the death of Kai. They are sedated due to their injuries and have not been informed yet. This is going to have to wait for now while they are treated for burn injuries.

Sara’s sister Mindi Ramos shared that at this time they have been told not to tell the family the information right away unless they ask questions. Their neighbor Paul Hanssen said that he had called Jon to warn him about the fire when it happened. It sounds like it was too late. The family did try to leave in their car, but it caught fire and then when they got out to run on foot they ended up getting caught in the fire. If they had evacuated before the fire hit their neighborhood this could be a totally different story.

Luckily, their neighbor Paul did lock himself in a metal trailer and was able to help save Sara and Kressa. He found them on the ground burnt after leaving the trailer where he was at with a hose with water and with his dog. The first responders were who actually found Jon and helped treat him. He had been separated and wasn’t right with the rest of his family.

Kai was found by Hanssen along with another neighbor and he was already deceased at this time. They covered him up with a sheet and said a prayer for him. The rest of the family is all expected to recover totally, but it is going to take them some time to heal.

[Featured Image by David McNew/Getty Images]