Altadena resident and climate scientist honored for "saving countless lives" during Eaton Fire
Altadena resident and climate scientist Edgar McGregor was honored with congressional recognition Monday for "saving countless lives" as he warned of the Eaton Fire.
"I know that if it weren't for Edgar, many more people would have died that night," Rep. Judy Chu said as she presented McGregor with an official Certificate of Congressional Recognition.
McGregor, 24, went live on his "Altadena Weather and Climate" Facebook group while he was evacuating from his home on Jan. 7. "This is imminent," he said. "Do not wait for official evacuation orders. Get. Out."
Days before the Eaton Fire, he had posted warnings about the windstorm ahead of the fire.
Nick Arnzen, a member of the Altadena Town Council, thanked McGregor as he presented him with another certificate. "...The day before, when you said if there is a fire there will be no stopping it," Arnzen said, speaking for his family. "We heard it, and we packed up a little box."
As McGregor stood with Arnzen, he said "I'm sorry this happened, it's just – I can't believe it. I mean that forecast I made, I thought, 'is this going to be that bad? Am I really going to use that language?' But it looked like Paradise (fire) to me."
The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures, left 20,000 people without a home, and caused at least 17 deaths.
"I've spent years forecasting for the Altadena area, I know the weather, I know the climate," McGregor said. "Together, hopefully we can develop our communication skills to prevent this from happening again. This is not the first time we've lost an American town to a major wildfire during a windstorm like this."