California Wildfires Highlight Risks to Elderly, Less Mobile, Residents

Actually, some of those killed last week refused to leave their homes, although I agree the elderly are going to be more vulnerable.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Five wildfire deaths highlight vulnerability of isolated seniors in disasters":

Some were pulled from the fire zone by relatives or neighbors, with or without their wheelchairs. At least a handful made the bumpy ride out in the back of a pickup through heavy smoke and fire-blackened debris — thanks to a former paramedic who breached the blockades.

They arrived at area shelters with oxygen tanks, without their medications, anxious and in some cases disoriented. Then there were the ones who stayed behind —intentionally or not.

Of the three deaths reported so far in Lake County's devastating Valley fire, all were senior citizens, among them 72-year-old Barbara McWilliams, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis. Two other men who are believed to have died were in their late 60s.

The aging are woven into the fabric of Lake County, where 18% of residents have passed their 65th birthdays, versus 11% for the entire state. Some have flocked here to retire, drawn to the independent streak that favors community over government; others have aged in place, their grown children gone in search of better job opportunities.

And though it was unclear in the disaster's aftermath how many were living in the evacuation zone, officials said about 2,300 county residents rely on state-funded in-home care or delivered meals.

In the Rocky and Jerusalem fires, which burned to the north and northeast of the Valley fire in August and July, staff of the county Office of Adult Services were able to contact those living in "advisory evacuation zones" and offer transportation to shelters, program manager Todd Metcalf said.

But the Sept. 12 blaze "moved too quickly for us to perform outreach as we normally do," Metcalf said...

Some folks just want to go. At the accompanying photo, the caption reads, "Winnie Pugh was evacuated from her home by her sons after she refused to go with firefighters."

Keep reading.