Camp Fire Victims: Remembering the 85 Who Died in the Fire in Paradise

The Camp Fire was the deadliest fire in California’s history. Eighty-five people died in the horrific fire. It started one year ago, on November 8, 2018, and is the subject of Netflix’s documentary, Fire in Paradise. These are the names of the victims who died in the Camp Fire.

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85 People Died in the Camp Fire

Eighty-five people died in the Camp Fire, most of them from the town of Paradise. Here are some of the names of the victims, as listed by SacBee and the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Note that this is from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, which only listed 84 out of 85 names – a list of those officially confirmed as having died in the fire.

Joyce Acheson, 78, Paradise

Herbert Alderman, 79, Paradise

Teresa Ammons , 82, Paradise

Rafaela Andrade, 84, Paradise

Carol Arrington, 88, Paradise

Julian Binstock, 88, Paradise

David Bradburd, 70, Paradise

Cheryl Brown, 75, Paradise

Larry Brown, 72, Paradise

Richard Brown, 74, Concow

Andrew Burt, 36, Paradise

Joanne Caddy, 75, Magalia

Barbara Carlson, 72, Paradise

Vincent Carota, 65, Paradise

Dennis Clark, 49, Paradise

Evelyn Cline, 83, Paradise

John Digby, 78, Paradise

Gordon Dise, 66, Chico

Paula Dodge, 70, Paradise

Randall Dodge, 67, Paradise

Andrew Downer, 54, Paradise

Robert Duvall, 76, Paradise

Paul Ernest, 72, Paradise

Rose Farrell, 99, Paradise

Jesus Fernandez, 48, Concow

Jean Forsman, 83, Magalia

Ernest Foss, 63, Paradise

Elizabeth Gaal, 80, Paradise

Sally Gamboa, 69, Paradise

James Garner, 63, Magalia

Richard Jay Garrett, 58, Concow

Bill Godbout, 79, Concow

Shirley Haley, 67, Paradise

Dennis Hanko, 56, Paradise

Anna Hastings, 67, Magalia

Jennifer Hayes, 53, Paradise

Christina Heffern, 40, Paradise

Ishka Heffern, 20, Paradise

Matilde Heffern, 68, Paradise

Dorothy Herrera, 93, Paradise

Lou Herrera, 86, Paradise

Evva Holt, 85, Paradise

TK Huff, 71, Concow

Gary Hunter, 67, Magalia

James Kinner, 84, Paradise

Warren Lessard , 68, Magalia

Dorothy Mack, 88, Paradise

Sara Magnuson, 75, Paradise

John Malarkey, 89, Paradise

Joanne Malarkey, 90, Paradise

Chris Maltby, 69, Paradise

David Marbury, 66, Paradise

Deborah Morningstar, 66, Paradise

Helen Pace, 84, Paradise

Joy Porter, 72, Paradise

Beverly Powers, 64, Paradise

Robert Quinn, 74, Paradise

Joseph Rabetoy, 39, Paradise

Forrest Rea, 89, Paradise

Vernice Regan, 95, Paradise

Ethel Riggs, 56, Paradise

Lolene Rios, 56, Paradise

Jerry Rodrigues, 73, Paradise

Christopher Salazar, 72, Paradise

Phyllis Salazar, 76 Paradise

Sheila Santos, 64, Paradise

Ronald Schenk, 75, Paradise

Berniece Schmidt, 93, Magalia

John Sedwick, 82, Magalia

Don Shores, 70, Magalia

Kathy Shores, 65, Magalia

Judith Sipher, 68, Paradise

Larry Smith, 80, Paradise

Russell Stewart, 63, Paradise

Victoria Taft, 67, Paradise

Shirlee Teays, 90, Paradise

Joan Tracy, 80, Paradise

Ellen Walker, 72, Concow

Donna Ware, 86, Paradise

Isabel Webb, 68, Paradise

Kimber Wehr , 53, Paradise

Marie Wehe , 78, Concow

Carl Wiley, 77, Magalia

David Young, 69, Concow

One person, who died in Ellen Walker’s home with her, was never identified even a year later, USA Today reported. The person who died with her was an older man who had dental work.

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Stories About Some of the Victims

Here’s a closer look at just a few of the 85 victims of the Camp Fire.

Ernie Foss and his stepson, Andrew Burt (pictured above), passed away in the fire. Ernie Foss Jr., 63, had advanced lymphedema and couldn’t walk, and was sometimes on oxygen. His stepson, Andrew Burt, was his caretaker. In fact, he had spent the last 11 years of his life caring for his stepfather and his late mother. Burt was a hero the morning of the fire, refusing to leave his stepdad’s side, KTVU reported. He was trying to find a minivan for Foss so they could escape.

Foss had moved to Paradise eight years ago because of the cost of living in San Francisco. He was a musician, his daughter Angela Loo told KTVU, and taught music lessons out of his home. Foss’s dog, Bernice, also died. Bernice often stayed by Foss’s bed, giving him company and friendship. Loo told KTVU that a neighbor warned Foss about the flames, but they only had minutes to escape. She said he would have needed to request a medical evacuation and transport. Foss had two children and several grandchildren.

The family has a GoFundMe here.

Lolene Rios, 58, was a victim of the devastating fire. Her husband Rick Rios, 69, survived. They had relocated to Paradise after losing their home to another fire in Concow in the 1990s, Daily Mail reported. After finding out about the fire, Rick went to the roof and saw their neighbor’s house on fire. He hoped he could still save the house somehow. Lolen began gathering their dogs, but the house went up in flames. Firefighters rescued Rick from the roof, and he suffered severe burns to his hands and face and needed skin grafts.

Rick Rios is a native of Guam. Lolene grew up in Gardenia and she and Rick were married for 36 years. She worked for the Walt Disney Company in Anaheim and he worked for a farming company before they retired in the 1990s, SF Chronicle reported.

Rick’s daughter said on her GoFundMe last December that he was suffering from PTSD and nightmares after what happened.

One look at Lolene’s Facebook page and you can see that she loved her family and was devoted to her pets. She posted happy photos of her cat and multiple dogs, along with joyous photos showing her spending time with her family. She also enjoyed collecting and tumbling rocks and would show her latest finds on Facebook.

Robert DuVall, 76, was among the Camp Fire victims. Kim Erickson, his ex-wife, said the sheriff’s department told her that he was found in a truck less than a mile from his home in Paradise, The Sacramento Bee shared. DuVall was an avid fisherman who moved to Paradise about 10 years ago to care for his sick mother, Erickson said. “He was always tinkering, always building. He was extremely talented in that respect.”

Over the year or so before the fire, he had started dating Beverly Craig Powers, one of his mother’s nurses, Chicoer reported. DuVall was a member of the Paradise BAss Club and had built two boats in town.

Beverly Powers, 64, also died in the fire. She was a nurse who worked in long-term care facilities, Chicoer reported. She was described as witty, fun, and full of love.

Bill Godbout, 79, died when the fire burned down his Concow home and workshop. He was a computer legend and Silicon Valley microcomputer pioneer from the 1970s and 1980s. An obituary posted by Vintage Computer Federation shared the tragic news. Godbout was “a legend in the S-100 community for his 1970s-1980s work at Godbout Electronics and CompuPro… For those of us who lived and did business in the East Bay during the opening years of the personal computer revolution Bill was a friend. He operated Bill Godbout Electronics from a Quonset hut on the margins of the Oakland Airport…”

Godbout’s first job out of college was with IBM. In his book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, Steven Levy wrote about Godbout: “Bill Godbout… bought junk on a more massive scale — usually government surplus chips and parts… Godbout, a gruff, beefy, still-active pilot who hinted at a past loaded with international espionage and intrigues for government agencies whose names he could not legally utter, would take these parts, throw his own brand name on them, and sell them, often in logic circuitry kits that you could buy by mail order.”

You can donate to a GoFundMe here to help the family, including his wife Karen, daughter Brandi, and Arthur.

Jesus “Zeus” Fernandez was only 48 when he passed away in the Camp Fire, SacBee reported. He was from Concow. A friend shared on the Camp Fire Missing Persons page that he lived on Broken Glass Circle in Concow, at the top end of the Cirby Creek Road area, and was missing with his German Shepherd, King. Myrna Pascua later wrote, “Thanks everyone who posted your prayers and thoughts… Sadly enough our dear friend did not make it but we appreciate the efforts from all that shared my posts or wished us well to find him.”

Family said about Fernandez: “Jesus Alejandro Fernandez, or Zeus, was the epitome of determination, respect, loyalty, and perseverance. A tireless provider, a dependable and loyal friend, a considerate neighbor, and loving father, he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”