NAPA, Calif. (AP) – Mike Rippey stood Tuesday among the ash and charred debris of the California home where his 100-year-old father, Charles, and 98-year-old mother, Sara, had died in the raging wine country wildfires.
Rippey said his brother had discovered their bodies after driving out to the home on Monday and managing to get past security.
His father appeared to be heading to his mother’s room when he was overcome by the smoke and flames.
“My father certainly wouldn’t have left her,” Mike Rippey said.
The couple had met in grade school in Wisconsin and been together ever since, celebrating their 75th anniversary last year.