Owen Goldsmith was 82. He had lived in Calaveras for more than 30 years. When the Butte fire threatened his home, he decided to stay and fight it. 
On Tuesday, our Butte Fire legal team filed a wrongful death suit against PG&E in San Francisco on behalf of Goldsmith’s family. His daughter spoke to the press:
No one should have to go through what I imagine he went through. . . . It was so difficult to see that he died in his refuge."
Our lead lawyer on the case, Amanda Riddle, explained to NBCBay Area News, regardless of whether the 82 year-old was told to evacuate, it’s still on PG&E.
PG&E bears the ultimate responsibility. They put him in a situation where he felt that he had no escape."