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ellisonz

(27,764 posts)
Sat Jan 11, 2025, 11:40 PM 17 hrs ago

How Two Words from a 24-Year-Old Pasadena Climate Specialist Saved Hundreds of Lives

by Phil Hopkins, January 11, 2025

A “wind event” was coming, scheduled to peak during the night of January 7th with near-hurricane force gusts, and Edgar McGregor knew it had the potential to be dangerous.

Very dangerous.

So McGregor, a part-time Los Angeles County park aide at Eaton Canyon Natural Area, leader of the Altadena Weather and Climate group on Facebook, publisher of the WeatherMcGregor service on Patreon and perhaps more widely known as the young guy who videoed his 1,997 daily trash pick-ups in the local foothills, started advising social media followers to be prepared.

Link: https://localnewspasadena.com/2025/how-two-words-from-a-24-year-old-pasadena-climate-specialist-saved-hundreds-of-lives/

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How Two Words from a 24-Year-Old Pasadena Climate Specialist Saved Hundreds of Lives (Original Post) ellisonz 17 hrs ago OP
Kick dalton99a 17 hrs ago #1
Another kick from me! LeftInTX 17 hrs ago #2
That kid is a hero cate94 17 hrs ago #3
Ellisonz, you have brightened my week considerably! I hope this young man has the best life possible! Hekate 16 hrs ago #4
Edgar is inspiring! ellisonz 16 hrs ago #5
Maybe they did? Lulu KC 16 hrs ago #8
If they were seeds in packets etc, they likely didn't survive. LeftInTX 4 hrs ago #12
I was thinking more of seeds that are still present on plants in their pods Lulu KC 2 hrs ago #15
Native seeds in the ground will often stay dormant for several seasons. They do in Texas LeftInTX 2 hrs ago #16
In fires, some can burst Lulu KC 2 hrs ago #17
Oh interesting about lodgepole pines! LeftInTX 2 hrs ago #18
It's kind of an uncertain situation. ellisonz 3 hrs ago #13
Sure Lulu KC 2 hrs ago #14
Magnificent story! Thanks! dchill 16 hrs ago #6
So inspiring! Lulu KC 16 hrs ago #7
Bass also sent out warnings. SleeplessinSoCal 16 hrs ago #9
I used to know one NJCher 14 hrs ago #10
Good for him 👏🏻 Meowmee 14 hrs ago #11
Great story! Maru Kitteh 1 hr ago #19

dalton99a

(85,154 posts)
1. Kick
Sat Jan 11, 2025, 11:45 PM
17 hrs ago
At around 6:15 pm on January 7th, amid a 70 mph Santa Ana howler coming from the north, the Eaton Fire started beneath electrical transmission lines that cross the canyon’s steep terrain near Midwick Drive in Altadena.

Understanding the urgency, McGregor logged into his social media account and broadcast the only alert 2,500 members of the Altadena Weather and Climate community received for nearly an hour about the impending disaster, recording the equivalent of an all-caps warning to finish packing critical items, load them into a vehicle, and then “Get out!”

Within minutes of McGregor’s warning, hundreds of vehicles streamed down Altadena Drive away from the fire and toward safety.

So many vehicles headed south that first responders from Pasadena barely had clearance to scream past on their way north toward the fire. Alternative southbound routes on side streets like Martelo Avenue and Craig Avenue quickly filled-up with escaping residents, tree limbs and flying palm fronds.

Hekate

(95,562 posts)
4. Ellisonz, you have brightened my week considerably! I hope this young man has the best life possible!
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 12:28 AM
16 hrs ago

He totally rocks

ellisonz

(27,764 posts)
5. Edgar is inspiring!
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 12:38 AM
16 hrs ago

Sad we were just down there a month or so ago working on the native plant nursery. There are seed samples from Eaton Canyon that should have made it through the fire.

Lulu KC

(5,277 posts)
8. Maybe they did?
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 12:55 AM
16 hrs ago

Aren't the plants in that ecosystem adapted for fire? (Hard to find them, but could they be?)

LeftInTX

(31,161 posts)
12. If they were seeds in packets etc, they likely didn't survive.
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 12:30 PM
4 hrs ago

Seeds in the ground are a different story.

Lulu KC

(5,277 posts)
15. I was thinking more of seeds that are still present on plants in their pods
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 02:44 PM
2 hrs ago

Which I realize is not the case here. Not a botanist, just envisioning the fire cycle in my head. I hope for the best for all, especially for the flora and fauna that are caught up in our human situation.

LeftInTX

(31,161 posts)
16. Native seeds in the ground will often stay dormant for several seasons. They do in Texas
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 02:48 PM
2 hrs ago

I would think similar in CA. Seeds in pods usually won't survive.

It happened at Mt St Helens. And it often happens in wildfire areas.

However, if these were special seeds collected, it's hard to say. I assume these may have been from endangered species. Endangered species are purposely propagated and reintroduced. However, collected seeds are often in various stages. They could be in packets, in refrigerators, in grow pots, in the ground etc etc etc.

Lulu KC

(5,277 posts)
17. In fires, some can burst
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 02:56 PM
2 hrs ago

I have heard about this in prairie burns and in northern forest succession (some pine cones burst). But for So Cal, it can be a problem since eucalyptus is an invasive exotic there from Australia. Oy.

https://www.britannica.com/list/5-amazing-adaptations-of-pyrophytic-plants#:~:text=Fire%2Dactivated%20Seed&text=Some%20plants%2C%20such%20as%20the,has%20physically%20melted%20the%20resin.

LeftInTX

(31,161 posts)
18. Oh interesting about lodgepole pines!
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 03:00 PM
2 hrs ago

We don't have pines where I live. We do have bad growing conditions...Poor soil, heat and drought.

ellisonz

(27,764 posts)
13. It's kind of an uncertain situation.
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 02:02 PM
3 hrs ago

Precautions were taken but you don’t know they worked until you know! I don’t want to be more specific at this time. Thank you for understanding!

NJCher

(38,413 posts)
10. I used to know one
Sun Jan 12, 2025, 02:21 AM
14 hrs ago

Of these independent weather guys like Edgar. This person’s name was Liam and he was so fascinated by the weather that he had his own site where he issued weather predictions.it was one of the first on the internet.

He also had a job doing the weather on some local cable channel.

My point in mentioning this is that there are these kinds of people who are so fascinated with weather prediction that it consumes them, and that appears to be the case with Edgar.

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