Meteorologist who predicted LA wildfires saved hundreds of lives after issuing early warning sign across the city
Los Angeles might typically be associated with the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, but if you head to the City of Angels right now, you might think you've stepped into an apocalyptic movie. As the LA wildfires continue to rage and the death toll reaches at least 24, California Governor Gavin Newsom warns that figure is likely to rise.
Homes belonging to celebrities like Paris Hilton and Anthony Hopkins have been devastated alongside iconic landmarks, while the fires themselves are tipped to be the costliest in history - reaching up to $200 billion in losses.
Three fires have burned over 60 square miles, and with firefighters apparently at a 'crucial' juncture, the saga is far from over.
With some 92,000 residents under evacuation orders and another 89,000 under evacuation warnings, safety is the top priority.
Advert
In terms of rescue efforts, one meteorologist is praised for saving hundreds of lives by delivering an early warning.
Posting on Facebook, 24-year-old Edgar McGregor warned Altadena residents about the fires before they even happened.
Delivering the warning on the Altadena Weather and Climate page, the climate scientist told locals not to go to bed and to prepare for evacuation on January 7.
McGregor isn't some modern Nostradamus or Baba Vanga, but instead, noticed similarities between conditions in Los Angeles and the likes of the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.
Speaking to PEOPLE, McGregor explained: "I knew on 30 December that when this windstorm hit, the conditions would be carbon copies of the conditions that were on the ground in Lahaina, Hawaii, and in Paradise, which both were completely levelled and lost around a hundred people each.
"I told people, if a wildfire breaks out, there'll be a thousand homes burned down. This would be cataclysmic.
"I knew that that warning might've been a little bit excessive, but as it turns out, a thousand homes are not even a fraction of the loss, the ones that were lost."
In fact, McGregor has been speculating for years that the Eaton Canyon is a tinder box waiting to catch fire: "For years I've been telling people this canyon, it's been decades since we last had a wildfire, and the fuels are abundant.
"I see dead trees that have accumulated everywhere. So I knew this was coming. I certainly didn't think January was the month it would occur, but I hope that I did my job in warning everybody."
Out of the deaths so far, eight are attributed to the Palisades fire, with the other 16 linked to the Eaton fire. Thanks to McGregor's warning, he's being heralded a hero. Discussing his notoriety, he said: "I haven't even been able to process that mentally. I didn't run into a burning building and get third-degree burns trying to save someone's life.
"So people are sending me all these comments and I'm thinking to myself, I just did my job."
He continues to post on the Altadena Weather and Climate page, concluding: "I think for the most part the immediate threat is over. The next couple of windstorms are not going to be all that impressive, especially not compared to what we saw on Tuesday.
"But it still hasn't rained. So in the next couple of weeks, if we get another major windstorm, it could be Hollywood that faces disaster next. Santa Barbara.
"Any of these foothill towns. And then when it rains, we have the mudslides to get through."
The cause of the wildfires remains unknown, although theories range from an electrical grid malfunction to the wild idea of a planned directed-energy weapon. As McGregor warns, it's not over yet for these deadly wildfires.