An elderly couple aged 100 and 98 have died after the wildfires struck in Northern California, which first ignited Sunday.
The deadly blazes, which have already claimed at least 17 lives, were too much for the couple who have been together for 75 years.
The couple met in grade school in Wisconsin and been together ever since, celebrating their 75th anniversary last year.
Charles Rippey, 100, and Sara Rippey, 98, (pictured here) were unable to evacuate their Napa, California home and died when the Tubbs fire swept through
Their son Mike Rippey, 71, said Tuesday his brother had discovered their bodies Monday after driving to the home and managing to get past security.
He said his father Charles appeared to be heading to the room of his mother, Sara, when he was overcome by the smoke and flames.
‘My father certainly wouldn’t have left her,’ Rippey said.
He said how he and his siblings couldn’t imagine how either parent would have navigated life if just one had survived the flames.
‘We knew there’s no way they would ever be happy, whoever was the last one. So they went together, and that’s the way it worked,’ he said stoically.
Chuck Rippey (pictured here) looks over a cup found in the burned out remains of his parent’s home at the Silverado Resort
In the charred remains of the home, only metal and porcelain survived to testify to the couple’s long life together.
Charles, who’s nickname was Peach as a toddler due to his chubby cheeks, and his wife were among the 17 victims who have died in the fierce, fast-moving fires that started on Sunday and raged through neighborhoods.
None of the other victims had been identified thus far.
Authorities have said they expect other older people to be among the dead, who like the Rippeys might not have been able to move fast enough to beat the flames.
Seventeen wildfires raging across parts of seven counties have destroyed more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures.
Mike Rippey (pictured here) walks among the burned out remains of his parents home at the Silverado Resort
Mike Rippey (pictured here) said of his deceased father Charles: ‘My father certainly wouldn’t have left her,’ with regards to his mother Sara
The wildfires rank among the five deadliest in California history, and officials expect the death toll to rise as the scope of destruction becomes clear.
At least 185 people were injured, and nearly 200 have been reported missing in Sonoma County alone, though many may be safe but unable to use damaged communication systems.
Mike was in London and boarding a flight to California when his brother called and told him their parents had died.
The couple attended the University of Wisconsin and married in 1942 before Charles served as a U.S. Army engineer in World War II. He became an executive with the Firestone tire company.
Mike said he had no plans to rebuild the home: ‘Without them, it doesn’t mean a thing,’ he said. ‘It’s gone. They’re gone.’
An American flag survived Sunday’s inferno on Camino del Prado in the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, California
A couple overlook their neighborhood at Fountaingrove Village after the tragic wildfires