Barbara McWilliams walked very slowly due to advanced multiple sclerosis. But, her caretaker recalled Monday, that allowed the former special education teacher to use her “eagle eye” to take in the world’s majesty.
The 72-year-old woman, who had no vehicle and could not have driven one, died in her Lake County home on Cobb Mountain over the weekend, becoming the first reported fatality of the fast-moving Valley fire and raising questions about evacuation efforts.
The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying that deputies responded to the area 22 minutes after receiving a 7:12 pm call about her Saturday but were unable to reach the Hot Springs Rd. home because the subdivision “had already been engulfed by flames.”
Jennifer Hittson, 30, who had worked for McWilliams for the past five months — cleaning the home on a remote wooded property, cutting McWilliams’ hair, chopping her vegetables — tells a different story.
Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.
