Husband and wife married for 75 years killed in Northern California wildfire
Husband and wife Charles and Sara Rippey, married for 75 years, were unable to escape their Napa County home before it became engulfed in flames, their family told ABC News.
Charles, who turned 100 in July, and Sara were found dead inside their home, making them among the 15 people who have been killed in fires that are raging across California. The Rippeys met when they were kids living in Wisconsin, and they had five children. Their son Mike Rippey told ABC News that his mother had a stroke five years ago that left her paralyzed, and they found his father's body halfway to her room. "There was no way he was gonna leave her," he said.
Because of their age and how intense the fire was in their neighborhood, his brother, Chuck Rippey, said he believes his parents wouldn't have survived even if they made it outside. Firefighters tried to get residents out, and those who didn't escape in time jumped into ponds and waited for a helicopter to rescue them, he said. Mike Rippey is grateful that his parents lived such long lives, where they "were happy right up until the last minute."
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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