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A child reported killed this week in one of the Oregon wildfires is believed to have died trying to save his grandmother, who also died.
Wyatt Tofte, 13, and his 71-year-old grandmother, Peggy Mosso, died trying to escape the Beachie Creek fire that hit their home in Lyons, about 27 miles southeast of Salem, on Tuesday, the report said. Salem Statesman Journal.
“I don’t need to go into too much detail, but obviously … he turned around to try to save his grandmother,” Lonnie Bertalotto, Wyatt’s uncle and Mosso’s son, told The Associated Press.
When the house caught fire, Wyatt’s mother Angela had told him to run with her bull mastiff, Duke mix.
She also knew that to save herself she would have to make the harrowing decision to abandon her mother, who had a broken leg and was scheduled for surgery days later.
Wyatt’s body was found behind the wheel of the car, with the dog on his lap. Mosso’s remains were also found in the car.
“The car was on the property,” Bertalotto said. “Wyatt was in the driver’s seat and Mom was in the passenger’s. We think Wyatt was going down the hill and went back to find his grandmother and couldn’t get her out of the car. He had a broken knee and was immobile. “
Chris Tofte spent Monday night preparing for the fire, borrowing a friend’s trailer to help his family escape the fire. He learned of his son’s death on Wednesday while his wife of 24 years was hospitalized.
Angela is still in critical condition, with burns to her arms, back and feet, at the Legacy Emanuel Hospital Burn Center in Portland, the only burn center in the state, after a brief stay at Salem Hospital.
On Thursday she learned of the horrible losses that she and her husband had suffered.
There are dozens missing and up to 26 deaths, including Wyatt and his grandmother, have been reported in the wildfires.
Approximately 500,000 Oregonians, more than 10% of the Beaver state population, were ordered to evacuate or prepare to evacuate.
On Thursday, Gov. Kate Brown tweeted that Oregon “has never seen this amount of unstoppable fire in our entire state.
“If you are advised to evacuate, do so immediately. You may not get a second chance, “he wrote, before adding:” We are working hard to keep you safe and help you deal with the aftermath. We will get over this. “
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