A distraught family identified a man who was one of at least five people who were killed in the Eaton Fire, which has carved a path of destruction in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.
Family members said Victor Shaw, who had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and other health issues, died in the wildfire.
Shaw lived alone in his late parents' home on Monterosa Drive in Altadena, according to a relative. The neighborhood sits at the edge of the foothills, near the intersection of Alta Loma Drive and Lake Avenue.
A cousin said Shaw's body was discovered by his sister Wednesday morning in the front yard of the residence. His sister called 911, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was expected to respond to the location and notify the county medical examiner.
The cause of death was not immediately confirmed.
In an additionally devastating development, Shaw's family said his body had not been removed from the scene as of Thursday morning.
Cadaver dogs and search crews are searching through rubble of the Eaton and Palisades fires, and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
While those two fires were no longer spreading significantly, both remained at 0% containment, officials said.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city's water system was stretched and further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fast-moving blaze because of the erratic wind gusts.
