San Jose State graduate hailed a hero, credited for saving lives in Eaton Fire in LA County

A 24-year-old climatologist who graduated from San Jose State University is being credited for saving lives when the fire erupted in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County. 

On the night of Jan. 7, when the Eaton Fire broke out, Edgar McGregor, who now lives in Altadena, recorded an urgent message and blasted it on social media, warning fellow residents of how dire the situation was even before evacuation orders were issued. He told his neighbors to get out. 

"Anything you cannot live without, put it in the car and take it… because this is imminent," McGregor said with the darkness of night around him. "Do not wait for an official evacuation notice. If you think you should leave, get out, get out!" he sternly directed.

What we know:

The post went out on Facebook, and people heeded his warning. Those people are now thanking McGregor for saving their lives. 

"One thing I want to mention to folks is it's easy to go on to their street and take a video of the fire and scaremongering people," McGregor told KTVU in an interview on Wednesday, "The difficult thing is spending three years building trust with your community so that when you tell them to run, they see those words and don’t need to be asked twice."

The backstory:

 McGregor. who studied meteorology and climate science, graduated from San Jose State in 2023. He has garnered thousands of followers on social media who tune into his expertise on the weather and climate. 

He’s also received widespread attention for the work he does cleaning up trash in his community. 

KTVU featured McGregor in a story back in 2023 as he worked on his streak of daily trash removal just before he got ready to don his cap and gown for his graduation ceremony at San Jose State.

His mother said that ever since his son was a child, he had been obsessed with the weather and had a deep-rooted desire to make a difference in the world. 

SEE ALSO: California musician who cares for disabled parents loses home in destructive Palisades Fire

After college, the young man moved to Altadena, where his family is and where McGregor continued his trash pick-up initiative.

His credible reporting and community engagement gained him quite a following on his Facebook page Altadena Weather And Climate.

McGregor said even a week before the disaster broke out, he was telling folks how catastrophic a fire could be with so little rain in the area. 

"You know, what was most fearful-- the conditions on the ground in Altadena mirrored that in Lahaina, Hawaii, back in August 2023 and Paradise, California, back in November 2018," the climatologist said. "There were a lot of fuels in the mountains. It hadn't rained in several months and the winds were really powerful, and I was really worried about a fire breaking out."

Many of those who listened to McGregor’s calls to get out early have expressed their gratitude for his lifesaving measures.  

"Thank you--you saved lives like those of my sister and her fam. Thank you," Allison Henry wrote.

And another person shared that while their home was spared, thanks to McGregor’s warning, they not only escaped danger but got others to prepare to leave. 

"I was packed for evacuation very early and began hassling friends to be packed as well," Jessica Charisma shared. 

On Tuesday, a week after the Eaton Fire, McGregor was back out there, picking up trash amid charred areas of his home park. The cleanup effort that day marked a milestone: his 2,000 trash pickup day.

"About a half bucket of trash here in the mountains north of Los Angeles. The scene, as I've been talking about in so many of my recent videos is absolutely devastating," he shared with his followers.

And he offered perspective along with hope. "It's a moonscape. The good news is you can also see the oak trees. Those are still green. It’s a very good sign that they are going to survive the fire," McGregor shared, adding, "We will build back better."

Big picture view:

In his interview with KTVU, McGregor said he hoped that the close attention to microclimates and those early warnings to evacuate may have demonstrated how to minimize lives lost in the face of destructive, deadly wind-whipped firestorms like those in Lahaina, Paradise and now Los Angeles County.

"I do hope that I showed the rest of the country how we can prepare for these events," McGregor said, "And I hope that that says something about the communication tactics that were in place before the fire ran through our community." 

McGregor’s lifesaving actions have been shared widely, as he’s been featured on multiple national media outlets. 

When asked about all the attention he’s received, the young scientist offered a humble response. 

"It's difficult because, you know, I didn't walk into a burning building and risk third degree burns to save a child," he said. "I'm just doing my job. My job is to look for conditions that can threaten people's lives and let them know when they're present."

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