Charles (100) and Sara (99) come to fire in California

napa - The devastating forest fires in California have cost the life of the elderly couple Charles (100) and Sara Rippey (99). By the fast-paced flaming sea in Napa, the couple who had been together for 90 years did not get out of time.

A son of the couple is deeply shocked. 'As children, we have often been told how it would be if one of our parents had to go further without the other. They just could not do without each other. This is a tragic end, but they're going to go together now is probably what they wanted, 'said Mike Rippey, 71, in American media. 'If one of the two had survived, it was actually much worse,' says granddaughter Ruby Gibney.

Meanwhile, the death toll of forest fires in the US state is 17.

The son searched the burned house in vain, hoping to find another memorial to the long life of his parents. The heat destroyed everything. Charles fought in the Second World War in North Africa, France and Italy. When returning to the US, he founded Sara with a family of five children.

In addition to busy family life, Mrs Rippey was always in the weather with bridge, golf and tennis. Her husband surprised her regularly with jewelry and called his wife 'the Queen'. The couple lived for 35 years in Napa, north of San Francisco.

A housekeeping had cooked the evening for the drama for the couple. When the flameszee struck later in the evening, the help tried to save the set. The couple was already sleeping at that time. The help still succeeded in getting Sara in a wheelchair, but when the roof began to collapse, the help could not mean anything. Last march, the couple with the whole family had celebrated the 75th anniversary.