Los Angeles Times - 31.10.2019

LATIMES.COM THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019B

April 19, 1932 - October 26, 2019

LEFEVRE, Timothy Marrin

Timothy Marrin Lefevre, 87, passed away at his home in Tarzana on October 26, 2019, with his family at his side. The youngest son of Beatrice and Louis Lefevre, he is survived by his children, Juliet, Margaret, Peter, and Andrew, and grandchildren Caroline, Harrison, Jack, Alexandra, and Lucas. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 47 years, Elizabeth, his son David, and his brothers and sisters, Robert, Marie, Rita, and Gerald. A native of Los Angeles, Tim attended Loyola High School, Loyola University, and the USC School of Medicine. In 1961 he opened his medical practice, specializing in internal medicine and cardiology. In 1984 he became the Medical Director of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital, a post he held for 21 years, spearheading MPTF’s growth into a comprehensive medical services organization. All who knew him will remember Tim as a man of extraordinary integrity and generosity, devoted to his family, friends, and his Catholic community. A funeral service will be held at St. Mel Catholic Church in Woodland Hills on November 9 at 2pm. Donations in his memory may be made to the Mission Doctors Association or the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.

May 31, 1930 - October 15, 2019

HUFFSMITH, Donn

Donn Huffsmith passed away peacefully at 89 years of age at the Alhambra Hospital Medical Center on Tuesday morning, October 15. Donn was a kind, loving, and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Donn leaves behind his wife of 21 years, Joanne Huffsmith, son Rod Huffsmith, stepdaughter Cheryl Johnson (Jeff ), stepdaughter Michele Arriaza-Silva, stepson Shawn Finn (Suzy), grandsons Blake Huffsmith, Neil Johnson, Mic Arriaza-Silva, and his former wife Marilee Knowlen. Donn enjoyed being of service to the La Cañada Congregational Church, watching football and Jeopardy, ballroom dancing, traveling, telling jokes, and spending time with his family, friends, dog Poppy, and cats Sunny & Honey. Until we meet again.

August 10, 1932 - October 14, 2019

HOLLANDER, Gail Anderson

Gail passed away peacefully on October 14, 2019 in Virginia Beach, VA. Gail spent what she would call the best years of her life in Santa Monica, CA. She was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Monica, where she developed a circle of close friends. She is best known for her artwork – mostly floral-themed watercolors and pen and ink drawings – and her whimsical, lighthearted poetry. Gail is survived by her children David Hollander of Virginia Beach, VA, and Eric Hollander of San Diego, CA, and her grandchildren Richard, James, Daniel, and Natalie. Private services were held in Santa Monica, CA.

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May 15, 1932 - October 28, 2019

YATES, Rita

Born in Washington DC, she came to Los Angeles to attend USC. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Edwin, and her 3 children, Gary (Susan), Kenneth (Leslie), and Karen (Jonathan), 6 grandchildren, Jason (Gabby), Erin, Steven, Lauren (Scott), Haley and Emily, and her 2 great- grandchildren, Ava and Ella, to whom she was Ba Tita. She is also survived by her brother Selvyn Gottlieb (Roz), and nieces and nephew. A memorial service will be held at Hillside Memorial Park on Friday, November 1 at 12 noon.

May 26, 1957 - October 2, 2019

RAMOS, Robert

On Oct. 2, Robert died peacefully after a two-year valiant battle with cancer. He fought with great strength, courage, faith and hope. A graduateof California State University, Fullerton, with a major in vocal studies, Robert had a beautiful tenor voice as well as wonderful humor and an unforgettable infectious laugh. Further, he was extraordinarily generous and a tender and loving soul! Robert worked at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in the Season Ticket Office. For many years, he was known only by a telephone voice so it is hoped his devoted subscribers, now knowing of his passing, can honor him in their memories or other preferred ways. Born in Newport Beach to Amador and Gabriela Ramos, Robert is survived by brothers Lee (Barbara) and Samuel Ramos; a niece, Lisa Medvene (Paul), children Jack and Chase; a nephew Toby Ramos, one child, Sahvana. ApublicMemorialServiceand reception will occur on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1:30 PM at Hollywood United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Per Robert’s wishes, donations in his honor can be made to Cancer Support Community L.A., 1990 S. Bundy Dr., Station 110, Los Angeles, CA 90025 and the Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1250 Fourth St., Santa Monica, CA 90401.

OBITUARIES

P

aul Barrere, guitarist and singer for the Los Angles rock group Little Feat, has died at a hospital in Westwood. He was 71. Barrere’s death was announced Saturday by sur- viving members of the band, who honored his contrib- utions to the music world. He died Saturday morning from the side effects of a treatment for liver disease. “Paul, sail on to the next place in your journey with our abiding love for a life always dedicated to the muse and the music,” Little Feat’s Bill Payne, Sam Clayton, Fred Tackett, Kenny Grad- ney and Gabe Ford said in a statement. Little Feat’s lead guitarist, singer and main song- writer, Lowell George, died in 1979. But Barrere was a foundational part of Little Feat’s funky, blues-inflected Southern rock. He wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s most beloved songs, including “Skin It Back,” “Time Loves a Hero” and “Old Folks Boogie.”

After initially auditioning as a bassist, Barrere joined the band three years after its founding in 1969. The band would carve out a distinct, danceable American sound of its own that melded blues, rockabilly, country, gospel and funk. Barrere was born in Bur- bank on July 3, 1948, the son of Paul Bryar and Claudia Bryar, both actors. Over his career he recorded or toured with Taj Mahal, Jack Bruce and Carly Simon, among others. Little Feat is on a 50th an- niversary tour that Barrere sat out because of his health. It was set to wrap up Sunday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Bonnie Raitt, with whom Barrere also played, remem- bered the guitarist as “a cornerstone of one of the greatest bands of all time.” “We will hold him in our hearts and celebrate his life and music always,” Raitt said. Barrere is survived by his wife, Pam, and three children, Gabriel, Genevieve, and Gillian.

A Times staff writer contributed to this report.

PAUL BARRERE, 1948 - 2019

Guitarist-singer for

L.A.’s Little Feat

associated press

Jason DecrowAssociated Press A FOUNDATIONAL PART OF LITTLE FEAT Barrere wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s most beloved songs, including “Time Loves a Hero.”

could come back, according
to Sonoma County sheriff ’s
officials.
The Santa Rosa Police
Department announced
just after 12 p.m. that city
residents could safely re-
turn.
The news came after
harsh winds and fire
weather in Northern Califor-
nia calmed, helping fire-
fighters entering their sev-
enth day battling the flames.
Containment of the fire,
which grew slightly to 76,
acres, doubled to 30% as of
Wednesday morning, ac-
cording to the California De-
partment of Forestry and
Fire Protection.
“The eastern part of the
fire was active overnight, but
firefighters continued to
make forward progress as a
whole,” even amid the final
strong wind event of the
week, according to fire and
weather officials.
Tuesday night, winds in
high terrain reached 60 mph,
and in the valleys where the
fire is burning, winds blew
up to 30 mph, said Spencer
Tangen, a meteorologist
with the National Weather
Service. By Wednesday
morning, the winds had be-
gun to slow.
“We’re not expecting an-
other wind event similar to
what we’ve seen, at least un-
til mid next week,” Tangen
said. That will probably help
firefighters continue to
make progress.
Jonathan Cox, a Cal Fire
spokesman, said Tuesday
that firefighters were brac-
ing for a challenging eve-
ning.
“If we are looking good as
far as fire growth this time
tomorrow morning, I feel like

that cautious optimism will be solidified,” he said. “If we’re not, if we have explo- sive growth tonight, we have our work cut out for us.” The outcome was in their favor: Gusts in the valleys near where the Kincade fire was burning were not as strong, and the wind event was weaker overall than pre- vious ones, Tangen said. Despite the fire’s massive scale and the large number of structures that have burned — 94 homes have been destroyed — no deaths have been reported in the blaze. Fire officials say that’s partly due to a proactive ap- proach and vast evacuation zones that have taken many out of harm’s way. Because the heavy winds were widely anticipated and the fire started in a less- populated area, crews had much more time than they did during the 2017 Tubbs fire to evacuate people and get prepared, even with the looming blackouts, author- ities said. Strike teams were already in the area around the Kincade fire before it broke out, allowing for a swift response. Cox said fire crews, in an- ticipation of the coming blackouts, tried to get people evacuated before the power went out. “Firefighters are very good at operating without power,” he said. “A lot of times, we ask for it to be closed down on fires to min- imize the risk.... I think, for us, it kind of reinforces the message that early evacuation is so important because of the potential that you may not have power later down the line.” Even as PG&E has shut

off power to prevent addi- tional fires, Northern Cali- fornia continues to see small fires. The utility revealed Mon- day that its equipment mal- functioned near two fires that broke out in Contra Costa County on Sunday afternoon, and the Califor- nia Public Utilities Commis- sion announced it would in- vestigate how PG&E han- dles its shut-offs. PG&E notified 540, customers their power could be shut off Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks to fa- vorable weather, the utility did not end up shutting off power to Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. PG&E was still monitoring weather conditions in Alameda, Con- tra Costa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. But for thousands more whose power has been shut off, the last several days have been challenging. Heidi Santos lost power at her home over the week- end. The mother of two was camped out at a resource tent outside a Catholic church in St. Helena on Tuesday morning while her 8- and 10-year-old children played at a nearby Boys and Girls Club. As it happened, the tent where she charged her cellphone was provided by PG&E. Without electricity, San- tos couldn’t cook for her young son, who is allergic to a long list of foods — soy, eggs, gluten, almonds and fish. What was in her refrigerator had long since spoiled, and Santos’ only option now was buying food from

restaurants or nonperish- able items from the market. To make matters worse, she hadn’t worked in two days because the home where she worked as a housekeeper had been evacuated. In Calistoga, a family that lost four homes on its com- pound to the 2017 Tubbs fire, and was under a mandatory evacuation again, was pack- ing up Tuesday afternoon. But not all were leaving. Denise Drawski, who lives on the family com- pound, said she thought the power had gone off Saturday — or maybe it was Sunday. She couldn’t remember ex- actly. “We’ve gone without power three out of seven days every week for the last few weeks, so I kind of lose track,” Drawski said. The temperature was also dipping, and they didn’t have heat. They were run- ning their “little baby gener- ator” every three hours or so, just to keep the refrigerator going and communications open so they could track the fire. Despite the mandatory evacuation orders, Drawski said, about a dozen neighbors in the area also planned to stay. “Almost all of us have our own little generators and fire hoses, so we can at least wet down a hundred-foot area,” she said. Firefighters could only do so much, and this was a lot of acreage for one family, Drawski said. They knew this land, and knew their way through these roads. She had too much skin in the game, she said, to leave just yet.

A METEORstreaks across the sky as the wind blows embers from a burned tree near Healdsburg, Calif., early
Wednesday. Gusts in the valleys near the Kincade fire have weakened, allowing firefighters to make progress.

Kent PorterSanta Rosa Press Democrat

Crews gain on Kincade fire

[Kincade,from B1]

As the fast-moving Easy
fire tore through Simi Valley
on Wednesday, dozens of
neighbors helped evacuate
panicked horses from
ranches in Ventura County’s
rural Santa Rosa Valley,
often struggling to push or
coax the animals into
trailers.
A caravan of trailers driv-
en by volunteers snaked its
way through the valley’s
dusty dirt roads, looking for
horses that needed to be
evacuated. The cars
stopped on a narrow road
where volunteers said sev-
eral horses had been
dropped off by a woman
whose property was on fire.
Over loud whinnies, the
good Samaritans tried to co-
ordinate where they should
take the animals.
“Anyone have a tall
trailer?” one woman
shouted, while holding the
reins of a horse. “I don’t
know if this horse can fit in
our trailer.”
Evacuating the animals
is challenging, said Fia Per-
era, 48, who was figuring out
whether she needed to move
her two horses and her 900-
pound pig, Tallulah.
Many horse owners don’t
have trailers and depend on
volunteers when emergen-
cies force them from their
homes. Some animals also
aren’t halter-trained, Perera
said, making it difficult to
move them.
“When they get agitated

and excited, you have to be firm,” she said. “If you’re panicky, they pick up on your energy.” The Easy fire, which broke out shortly after 6 a.m. near Easy Street and Made- ra Road, has forced thousands of people from their homes as officials try to keep flames from overtaking neighborhoods. The equestrian community has consistently come together during fires. Volun- teers often find people who need help through word-of- mouth or on social media, especially through a Face- book group called Southern

California Equine Emer- gency Evacuation. “People come from all over to help out,” Perera said. Jacqui Masson, 55, drove to the Santa Rosa Valley to help friends evacuate their horses. The horsewoman tries to make herself as use- ful as possible during fires. She’ll help get horses into trailers or muck stalls at evacuation centers. “Anytime there’s a fire, people are saying, ‘I’ve got four stalls here, 10 stalls there,’ ” she said. Raizy Goffman, 79, who lives in Porter Ranch and

manages horse shows in Los Angeles, was one of several who arrived with her trailer to help. She spent the morning reaching out to dozens of ranch owners and horse trainers in the area. She stopped at several ranches but left when she saw they already had enough assist- ance. “Everything is difficult,” she said of the situation, before jumping in the car to see whether she could help a few yards down the road, where volunteers were trying to get a halter on a horse that hadn’t been broken in.

Wrangling horses amid smoke and fire

A HORSEruns free Wednesday as the Easy fire burns toward Simi Valley neighborhoods. In the Santa Rosa Valley, volunteers gathered to evacuate the animals.

Al SeibLos Angeles Times

By Leila Miller

Los Angeles Times - 31.10.2019

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