"He was asleep in his bed, where he still is right now, as I wait on the coroner."
The haunting words of Kimiko Nickerson stopped us in our tracks.
Her father Rodney, 82, was sure the fire wouldn't reach his home in Altadena. He was wrong.
The inferno cut through this quiet suburb north of Los Angeles at an alarming rate, its path unpredictable.
California wildfires latest - new evacuation order issued
She said: "He just didn't want to evacuate. He's been living here since 1968, and he's been in Altadena my whole life.
"Like all of us on this block, in four blocks, he didn't think it was going to be this devastating.
"It jumped whole streets, and it hit this community, but it didn't touch the mountainside at all."
They're still trying to process the apocalyptic scenes here and grieving for those who did not get out.
Kimiko said: "I have no words to explain my feelings at this point in time.
"I'm just silent and numb and just mentally trying to go through the process."
'Truly apocalyptic scenes' as flames swallow homes in LA wildfires evacuation zone
It would be impossible to exaggerate the scale of the destruction, cars burnt to a cinder, palm trees still alight, powerlines strewn across roads.
So many people have lost the roof over their head but there's one thing Kimiko says she'll never lose - her memories.
"Every laugh, every joke he told.
"He was a smart man. He read the LA Times from cover to cover and walked around the Rose Bowl every day.
"He was healthy, he was ambitious… but he went to sleep and died in his bed back there."
(c) Sky News 2025: LA wildfires: One daughter’s haunting account of her father’s fatal decision
LA fires: 'It's an apocalypse' - families return to homes reduced to ruins
'The future is in our hands' scientists say, as 2024 becomes first year to pass 1.5C global warming threshold
UK weather: Temperatures could fall as low as minus 20C as big freeze continues
Picture shows baby girl moments after birth on packed migrant dinghy heading for Canary Islands
Harriet Harman calls for 'mini inquiry' into race issues raised by grooming gangs scandal
Arson Attempt Closes Accessible Toilets
Joe Robertson Urges Isle Of Wight Council To Reject Mainland Mayoral Proposal In Open Letter
Find Out What Is Happening To Godshill's Former Chocolate Shop
Key County Hall Body Votes Against Controversial Devolution Plan Proposals