Santa Rosa man dies of burns, becomes 44th victim of Wine Country fires

Michel Azarian in an undated photo Michel Azarian in an undated photo Photo: Courtesy Of Khachik Papanyan Photo: Courtesy Of Khachik Papanyan Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Santa Rosa man dies of burns, becomes 44th victim of Wine Country fires 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

A Santa Rosa man who was trapped outside his home and severely burned by the Tubbs Fire in October has died of his injuries after seven weeks of hospitalization, becoming the 44th fatality from the Wine Country firestorm.

Michel Azarian, 41, died Sunday at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we are coming to grips with the untimely loss of our good friend Michel,” said a statement from the Armenian Church of Austin in Texas, where Azarian was a member before moving to Santa Rosa two years ago.

Azarian was an engineer with Keysight Technologies, a Santa Rosa company that makes precision electronic measurement devices.

A native of Lebanon, Azarian came to the U.S. in 2002 to study at the University of Texas and to work for National Instruments in Austin, designing radio circuitry.

A longtime friend, San Jose lawyer Khachik Papanyan, remembered Azarian as a “smart guy, a fun-loving (and) extremely gifted when it came to problem solving. Puzzles it would take me a day to solve, he could solve them in the blink of an eye.”

Azarian was also a world traveler, a devoted hiker and a skilled photographer. His social media pages are filled with his images of mountains, seascapes, ladybugs and lavender plants.

Papanyan said Azarian was found badly burned in a small clearing near his home on Mark West Springs Road in north Santa Rosa on Oct. 9, the day after the Tubbs Fire broke out. A text he sent the night of the fire indicated he was unaware of the impending danger, Papanyan said. By the time Azarian realized what was happening, it was too late.

Azarian is survived by his mother, Berjouhy Toukhtarian, of Lebanon, and by longtime friend Annie Dinh of Dallas.

A memorial service will be held Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew Armenian Church, 11370 S. Stelling Road, Cupertino.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com