Hero meteorologist saved hundreds of lives by predicting 'cataclysmic' LA fires early

A meteorologist may have unknowingly saved hundreds of lives after he correctly 'predicted' a 'cataclysmic' fire in Los Angeles, days before Eaton and the Palisades went up in flames.

At the time of writing, 24 people have died as a result of the fires, over 1,000 buildings have burnt down, and around 130,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

A number of major stars including Mark Hamill, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, and Paris Hilton have all lost their homes in the fire.

However, the outcome could have been even more catastrophic had climate scientist Edgar McGregor not have warned Altadena residents about a potential fire before it had even began.

Getty

The 24-year-old took to the local residents' Facebook page on 7 January - the evening fires around the Palisades and Eaton began - warning people to pack their belongings into a bag and avoid going to sleep.

While California is no stranger to wildfires - and fires in general - McGregor knew that this time even more danger was looming.

"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," the meteorologist explained to PEOPLE.

"I told people, if a wildfire breaks out, there'll be a thousand homes burned down. This would be cataclysmic."

Instagram/Edgar McGregor

"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."

On what made him realise, McGregor added: "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."

A true local hero.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.