Blues Brothers actress, 95, dies in devastating LA wildfires after becoming trapped in her home as it burned to ground
A RETIRED actress has died trapped in her home as the horror Eaton Fire burned it to the ground.
Dalyce Curry, who appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, died at 95 years old, her family confirmed.
Known as “Momma D” to loved ones, Mrs Curry’s body was discovered by first responders at 6 pm on Sunday amid the rubble of her Altadena home just north of Los Angeles.
Her great-granddaughter, Dalyce Kelley, broke the tragic news on Facebook.
She wrote: “About an hour ago the coroner confirmed her remains were found at the property.”
Kelley also shared haunting footage of the devastation, showing her great-grandmother’s scorched Cadillac and the remnants of the home reduced to ash.
“This was the kitchen,” Kelley said in the video as she pointed out a refrigerator, a bicycle, and a door amid the debris.
The footage revealed a post-apocalyptic scene, with the sky still glowing orange from the wildfire raging nearby.
The Eaton Fire is one of several wildfires wreaking havoc in the Los Angeles area, igniting fresh outrage over politicians’ handling of wildfire prevention.
Mrs Curry’s great-granddaughter and caregiver, Dalyce Kelley, revealed she had last seen Curry when she dropped her off at the home from the hospital around midnight last Tuesday.
Hours later, the Eaton Fire erupted and quickly escalated into a deadly blaze.
Kelley had left to care for other relatives and was unaware of the danger until she woke up to an emergency alert warning that Mrs Curry’s home was at risk.
When Kelley rushed back to Altadena, police stopped her from accessing the area, the Daily Mail reports.
“An officer told me the house was totally burned down,” she said, adding that she was advised to check the Pasadena Civic Center, where displaced residents were being cared for.
For five agonizing days, Kelley and her family waited for news, sifting through the devastation in hopes of finding Mrs Curry.
On Friday, a National Guardsman escorted Kelley to the site of her great-grandmother’s home.
“It was total devastation,” she said.
“Everything was gone except her blue Cadillac.”
As Curry’s family mourns, they remember her as a beloved matriarch and a small but cherished part of Hollywood’s golden age.
“She was ‘Momma D’ to all of us,” Kelley said. “It’s heartbreaking to lose her like this.”
Dalyce Curry, who was part of the Old Black Hollywood scene in the 1950s, had spent decades working as an extra in iconic films.
Despite her age, family members said she was active and full of life.
“She was very active; you would not think she was 95,” granddaughter Loree Beamer-Wilkinson said.
Mrs Curry’s death is among at least 24 fatalities confirmed as wildfires rage across Southern California, with 16 people still missing and over 150,000 residents forced to evacuate.
Four fires, including the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, have consumed more than 62 square miles of land, destroying homes in some of LA’s most affluent neighborhoods.
Extreme drought conditions, dry vegetation, and powerful Santa Ana winds — gusting up to 80 mph — have created the “perfect storm” for wildfires, according to CalFire.
“Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of Southern California, creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread,” officials warned.
Power outages have affected nearly 70,000 customers, over half of them in Los Angeles County.
Meanwhile, two men have been arrested for allegedly setting fires, including one suspect detained with a blowtorch in Calabasas.
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What caused the LA wildfires?
by Juliana Cruz Lima, Foreign News Reporter
THE devastating Palisades Fire, which has ravaged Los Angeles and claimed at least eight lives, is believed to have been reignited from scorch marks left by an earlier blaze that may have been sparked by New Year’s Eve fireworks.
According to an investigation by The Washington Post, remnants of the earlier fire, which burned in the Temescal Ridge area of the Santa Monica Mountains, could have been rekindled by strong winds six days later, setting the stage for one of California’s most destructive wildfires.
Satellite imagery and other data suggest the Palisades Fire began in the same area as the New Year’s Eve fire, which had been contained after burning four acres.
While the initial blaze was controlled in a few hours, the high winds and severe drought conditions leading up to the second fire created a perfect storm for reignition.
Michael Gollner, a fire scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, explained: “We know that fires rekindle and transition from smoldering to flaming.
“It’s certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition.”
Nearby residents expressed frustration over what they described as a slower response time to the second fire.
Michael Valentine, who witnessed the start of both blazes, noted a stark difference.
“The first time around, the response was swift and impressive. The second, though, was slower and hindered by the high winds,” he said.
Valentine reported that when he and his wife called the Los Angeles Fire Department to report the Palisades Fire, the line was busy, and resources were delayed as crews responded to emergencies elsewhere in the city.
A helicopter attempting to deliver water early on was unable to operate due to the dangerous winds.
Valentine estimated it took 45 minutes before he saw any firefighting efforts, by which time the fire was spreading rapidly.
The delay led Valentine to take matters into his own hands, wetting down homes in his neighborhood and sustaining burns and injuries in the process.
Adding to the tragedy, local residents have pointed to the dangers of fireworks during drought conditions.
A nearby hiker, Darrin Hurrwitz, reported smelling smoke near the origin point an hour before the fire broke out but dismissed it when the scent disappeared.
Another resident blamed the New Year’s Eve revelers, saying: “You got to know better. It’s dry. There’s no precipitation… Then the Santa Anas came on Monday, and that’s what reignited the fire.”
While it remains uncertain whether the New Year’s Eve fire directly caused the Palisades Fire, both state and federal investigators continue to examine the burn scar area for clues.