
Gather ’round, dear readers, for a solemn story that touches the heartstrings with the fervor only life can muster. Dalyce Curry, yes, that lovely extra from the iconic Blues Brothers movie, has sadly taken her final bow due to the monstrous LA wildfires. What a tragedy!
These wildfires, rampaging through Southern California like a bull in a china shop, have made it to the history books for all the wrong reasons. With some of the most deplorable destruction known in US history, these fires have chalked up a grim tally—25 lives snuffed out, entire communities displaced, and countless homes and businesses scorched. It’s like Mother Nature’s version of a scorched earth opera.
Let me tell you about a poignant moment, recounted by Dalyce Kelley’s granddaughter, who took to the digital realm of Facebook to share harrowingly tender news. On the evening of Sunday, January 12th, she revealed the heartbreaking discovery: her grandmother Dalyce’s remains were found after the flames swept through.
“We had a great run,” wrote Kelley, her words tattooed with loss. With tears barely dry, Kelley shared that Dalyce’s last heartfelt words were exchanged under a deceptively calm night sky, filled with smoke looming off in the distance. It was January 8th, a little after midnight, when Dalyce returned home from the hospital.
Did danger seem imminent? Certainly not, as there was no evacuation order. The threat was cloaked by four miles of distance, breeding a false sense of security. Kelley recalls Dalyce’s loving wet kisses—the kind that needed a subtle wipe afterward—as they bid each other goodnight, a prelude to separation only the cosmos foresaw.
But dawn brought shock and devastation. The Eaton Fire had spread its greedy fingers over several Altadena blocks. Kelley describes arriving at a scene stark and smoky, a chilling landscape reminiscent of a fiery inferno akin to the gates of Hades. Barriers stood guard, preventing any entrance.
An anonymous passerby shared her despair: “My house is gone,” he lamented, echoing the sentiments of many.
With urgency and hope wrestling on her lips, Kelley relayed her grandmother’s address to a police officer. Later came the call no one wants to receive—the confirmation from county Medical Examiner officials that Dalyce’s remains, heartbreakingly, were found amidst the ashes of her home.
May Dalyce rest peacefully with all the victims of these relentless California wildfires, whose stories tug at our empathy and call for our remembrance.