55 Year Old Pt Dume Woman Succumbs To Fire Injuries: Malibu Times
Written by 991KBU on January 11, 2019
The death toll from the Woolsey Fire has now increased to four.
And this woman is the first reported death from the center of Malibu.
Family members tell the Malibu Times that Point Dume resident Debbie Purucker died five weeks after the fire … in a hospital.
She was 55.
Debbie Purucker and her husband John had lived on Wandermere Road for 30 years … raising a family in their self-built house.
John Purucker had lived on the property for 51 years … they had raised four children there.
The Malibu Times reports she and her husband stayed during the fire … and battled the flames at their house.
The lost that battle and fled to the beach.
Her family says she took a lot of smoke … and several days later was taken to a hospital.
She died there 5 weeks later … her family tells the Malibu Times.
Debbie Purucker was a member of Trancas Riders and Ropers and had worked on the trails committee for the City of Malibu.
Her private burial was yesterday.
Two men and a woman were killed in the canyons west and north of Malibu during the fire.
Debbie Purcell is the first reported death within the city itself … and the first death of someone who ignored evacuation orders and stayed behind to protect their homes.
