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Thread: Suzan Violet Zurz (76) died in the California wildfires

  1. #1
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    Suzan Violet Zurz (76) died in the California wildfires

    https://fox40.com/news/local-news/ma...still-missing/


    BERRY CREEK, Calif. (KTXL) ? Berry Creek is dealing with immense loss with homes across the town flattened and at least 10 residents dying in the North Complex West Zone Fire.

    Zygy Roe-Zurz lost his aunt, Millicent Catarancuic, and uncle, Philip Rubel, in the fire and said he fears the worst for his mother, who is still missing.

    As the days go by, he said his hopes of finding her alive are wearing thin.

    ?There could be some far-fetched scenario and every ounce of me wishes that were true,? Roe-Zurz told FOX40. ?But the odds are that this horrific fire caught so many people.?

    He has not heard from his mother, 76-year-old Suzan Violet Zurz, since Sept. 8 when the North Complex West Zone Fire tore through Berry Creek.

    The remains of his uncle were found in a pickup truck. His aunt was found nearby down an embankment.

    Zurz, Catarancuic and Rubel shared a home on Graystone Lane, which is now in ashes.

    ?I woke up and almost everything I owned and many people that I loved were just wiped off the face of the earth,? Roe-Zurz said.

    He talked on the phone with his mother the night of the fire. She said they were packing up to evacuate but then decided against it.

    ?They lived in Berry Creek for a number of years. They had gone through this before,? he explained. ?I trusted that they were aware of what was going on around them.?

    Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said somehow the family received false information that the fire was 51% contained.

    ?It?s still hard to understand why they didn?t leave. Why they felt that they weren?t in grave danger,? Roe-Zurz said.

    He said he?s searching for answers as to what notice his family got the night of the blaze.

    ?We need to learn from these,? he said. ?We need to do better. We can do better.?

    While he?s lost so much, Roe-Zurz said he plans to come back to Berry Creek to rebuild in honor of his loved ones.

    ?If it is the place where my family members left this earth, that piece of land means an awful lot to me,? he told FOX40. ?So, we want to understand what can we do better? God forbid there is a next time.?

    With all the damage, it will take some time until the rebuilding process can start. There?s no word yet on when evacuees can return to their properties in Berry Creek.

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    Note there have been other threads showing that there were missing people in the Butte County, CA wildfires but the Coroner's office didn't yet identify all the victims reported missing or reported dead due to the ongoing rescue operations by CalFire

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    https://krcrtv.com/news/local/victim...n-cars-roadway


    OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A 72-year-old man found dead in a vehicle and two other people discovered on a roadway were among the latest victims of the deadliest wildfire in California this year.

    Fifteen people were killed last week in the North Complex fire burning about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. One person remained missing, the Butte County sheriff’s office said late Wednesday.

    DNA testing was used to positively identify 12 of the victims, Sheriff Kory Honea said. They included Jacob Albright, 72, of Feather Falls, whose body was found in a vehicle on a property in the community.

    The two bodies in the roadway were found in Berry Creek — one about 10 feet from an all-terrain vehicle, the other also near a vehicle, Honea said. One of them was identified as Paul Winer, 68, while the other has not been identified.


    California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that more than 17,000 firefighters were battling some 25 major fires that were ignited in the past month, after an unprecedented lightning siege in mid-August.

    The death toll stands at 25, with at least 4,200 structures destroyed statewide and more than 38,000 people under evacuation.

    Newsom said environmental stewardship is not a partisan issue in the state that has had governors from both major political parties.

    “We need to reconcile the fact there are no Democratic thermometers and no Republican thermometers,” he said about global warming.

    In Butte County, winds thrashed the fire into explosive growth on Sept. 8, driving it through rugged Sierra Nevada foothills and destroying much of the town of Berry Creek.

    Two people found on a 5-acre property in Berry Creek couldn’t escape fast enough, Honea said. The body of Philip Rubel, 68, was found inside a burned pickup truck, and Millicent Catarancuic, 77, was discoered down an embankment.

    “They had packed their belongings in preparation to evacuate but later decided not to evacuate based on erroneous information that the fire was 51% contained,” Honea said.

    The two lived on the compound with Catarancuic’s sister, Suzan Violet Zurz, who remained missing.
    Others killed in the fire were Randy Harrell, 67, of Feather Falls and Mark De La Gardie, 61, Ken Lee, 64, John Butler, 79, Sandra Butler, 75, Jorge Hernandez-Juarez, 26, Khawar Bhatti, 58, and Josiah Williams, 16, all of Berry Creek.

    Here are some more of the victims killed identified so far in the California Wildfires.

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    https://fox40.com/news/local-news/ma...still-missing/

    Update Suzan Violet Zurz (76) has been found as one of the victims in the Butte County, CA 2020 wildfires.

    UPDATE (Sept. 17, 6:45 p.m.) — Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Thursday evening that the remains of Suzan Violet Zurz were positively identified.

    Read the original story below.

    BERRY CREEK, Calif. (KTXL) — Berry Creek is dealing with immense loss with homes across the town flattened and at least 10 residents dying in the North Complex West Zone Fire.

    Zygy Roe-Zurz lost his aunt, Millicent Catarancuic, and uncle, Philip Rubel, in the fire and said he fears the worst for his mother, who is still missing.

    As the days go by, he said his hopes of finding her alive are wearing thin.

    “There could be some far-fetched scenario and every ounce of me wishes that were true,” Roe-Zurz told FOX40. ”But the odds are that this horrific fire caught so many people.”

    He has not heard from his mother, 76-year-old Suzan Violet Zurz, since Sept. 8 when the North Complex West Zone Fire tore through Berry Creek.

    The remains of his uncle were found in a pickup truck. His aunt was found nearby down an embankment.

    Zurz, Catarancuic and Rubel shared a home on Graystone Lane, which is now in ashes.

    “I woke up and almost everything I owned and many people that I loved were just wiped off the face of the earth,” Roe-Zurz said.

    He talked on the phone with his mother the night of the fire. She said they were packing up to evacuate but then decided against it.

    “They lived in Berry Creek for a number of years. They had gone through this before,” he explained. “I trusted that they were aware of what was going on around them.”

    Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said somehow the family received false information that the fire was 51% contained.

    “It’s still hard to understand why they didn’t leave. Why they felt that they weren’t in grave danger,” Roe-Zurz said.

    He said he’s searching for answers as to what notice his family got the night of the blaze.

    “We need to learn from these,” he said. “We need to do better. We can do better.”

    While he’s lost so much, Roe-Zurz said he plans to come back to Berry Creek to rebuild in honor of his loved ones.

    “If it is the place where my family members left this earth, that piece of land means an awful lot to me,” he told FOX40. “So, we want to understand what can we do better? God forbid there is a next time.”

    With all the damage, it will take some time until the rebuilding process can start. There’s no word yet on when evacuees can return to their properties in Berry Creek.

  5. #5
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    Thread is now heading to Non-MDS due to the wildfire updates thanks!

    OROVILLE, Calif. — One more victim in the North Complex West Zone fire has been identified.

    Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea identified the victim as 76-year-old Susan Zurz.

    Zurz's remains were found with Philip Rubel, 68, and Millicent Catarancuic, 77, according to Honea.

    Honea said though the group was preparing to evacuate, they stayed because they believed erroneous information that the North Complex fire was 51% contained. The sheriff said he wasn't sure from where they got that information.
    According to Cal Fire officials, 727 homes were destroyed and 34 were damaged in the North Complex fire. Officials said 51 commercial buildings were destroyed and 34 were damaged.

    The North Complex West Zone is 78,750 acres and is 40% contained. The North Complex fire in its entirety is 284,750 acres and is 40% contained.

    5:30 p.m. update:

    The Butte County Sheriff's Office is reducing an evacuation order to an evacuation warning. The warning applies to the area of Highway 70 from the West Branch Bridge north to Pulga Road, east to the north fork of the Feather River, and the communities of Yankee Hill and Big Bend Road.

    "Residents in the warning area may return to their homes but are advised to remain alert to further updates and warnings," BCSO said in a tweet.

    4:20 p.m. update:

    36 members of CA-TF7 from Sacramento have been deployed to Butte County to fight the fire in the North Complex West Zone.

    CA-TF7, which stands for California Urban Search and Rescue - Task Force 7, is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams and one of 8 in California. The task force responds to the nations search and rescue emergencies.

    These 36 team members are from different agencies, including some from the Sacramento Fire Department.


    https://www.abc10.com/article/news/l...d-f83fc8a87420

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