17-year-old dies of burns, becomes 43rd victim of California wildfires

Kressa Shepherd (right), 17, was fatally injured in the Redwood Valley Fire. Her brother Kai, 14, also died, and parents Jon and Sara remain hospitalized with severe burns. Kressa Shepherd (right), 17, was fatally injured in the Redwood Valley Fire. Her brother Kai, 14, also died, and parents Jon and Sara remain hospitalized with severe burns. Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close 17-year-old dies of burns, becomes 43rd victim of California wildfires 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

A 17-year-old Mendocino County girl who was badly burned as her family made a desperate attempt to escape approaching flames died Sunday, raising the death toll of the deadly wildfires that swept through Northern California this month to 43.

Kressa Shepherd, a talented artist and straight-A student at Ukiah High School, never recovered from the severe burns she suffered after she and her family fled their Redwood Valley home Oct. 9 as the surrounding forest erupted in fire, her family said Monday.

A team of doctors and surgeons at Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento performed multiple skin grafts and amputated both her legs below the knees in an attempt to save her, but she slipped into unconsciousness.

Her 14-year-old brother, Kai Shepherd, also died in the 36,523-acre Redwood Valley Fire, which has now claimed nine lives.

Kressa’s aunt, Mindi Ramos, wrote on the online fundraising site Generosity on Sunday that her niece had been unconscious for days and that the medical staff got worried at her lack of a pain response when they changed her dressings. Subsequent testing revealed that she was brain-dead, so she was removed from life support.

“There was nothing the doctors could do,” Ramos wrote. “She is no longer in any pain and is with Kai now. Please continue to pray for strength to get through the loss of this precious soul.”

The children’s parents, Sara, 40, and Jon, 44, remain hospitalized with severe burns. Sara was reported in critical condition Monday at UC Davis Medical Center.

The devastating fire, which started shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 in the Potter Valley, was whipped into a fury by winds gusting up to 80 mph. It raced across pastures, through vineyards westward over a small mountain range and, within an hour, burned into Redwood Valley.

Fire officials said the flames were traveling 18 mph when they rolled over the mountain into town.

The family, which lived in a home recently built by Jon Shepherd on 80 acres of a forested mountainside, tried to escape the fast-moving blaze about 1 a.m., leaving in a pickup and a sport utility vehicle. The only way out was down a steep, winding dirt lane known as Sweetland Drive toward the paved section of West Road.

The flames engulfed the vehicles about halfway down the mountain road, which is wide enough for only a single vehicle, forcing the family to jump out and make a run for it, Ramos said.

Kai’s body was found against an embankment near the burned-out cars. The father apparently made it almost to West Road before he collapsed and was picked up by emergency workers. He suffered burns over 45 percent of his body, Ramos said.

Kressa and her mother were reportedly found by a neighbor, who hailed firefighters. They had suffered burns over 60 percent of their bodies, Ramos said.

Kressa had attended River Oak Charter School in Ukiah before excelling at Ukiah High School, where she was a junior.

Angelina Gutierrez, her high school guidance counselor, said Kressa got straight As in all her classes, was a talented artist and “a quiet leader” whose writing and artwork would often be shown by teachers as an example of excellent work.

“She had the world in front of her,” Gutierrez said. “She was really friendly, really approachable, very caring, creative and kind.”

Peter Fimrite and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite, @kurtisalexander