There was nothing to suggest that the tragedy was going to force him to forget his recent Christmas vacation so soon. The Spanish Raquel Folgado I had just returned on Sunday Abejera (Zamora), his hometown, to spend these holidays with his family, and just one day later a true hell began. This researcher has lived for years in California and currently resides in Pasadenajust three kilometers from the Eaton fire, one of the most devastating.
“On Monday we began to receive alerts for strong winds and high risk of fires. Here the vegetation was very dry, due to the absence of rain in recent months,” analyzes the Zamora, who points out that this month of January is usually rainy season“but relative humidities were recorded below 30%, because the winds that reached the area of Los Angeles They came from the desert,” he details.
With all these ingredients, in the event of any possibility of fire, it could easily spread, as it finally did. “The Pacific Palisade fire broke out and concern increased when another one started in the area on Tuesday afternoon. Los Angeles National Forestan area known as Eaton Canyon, very familiar to me, because it is close to my house and I usually go hiking,” says the woman from Zamora.
feel the smoke
The proximity of the fire made him also feel the smoke coming, “in addition to the strong gusts of wind, which lasted part of the night.” This made it impossible to use any aerial means of extinction. “To some extent, the situation reminded me of the tremendous fire on my land in the Sierra de la Culebra“, he recalls.
Little rest followed by a new day “in which we had to assess the damage and be alert for the possibility of having to evacuate. On my street, I saw two large fallen trees, as well as branches and pieces of roofs everywhere,” he describes .
In the Altadena area there have been hundreds of properties affected, with at least five dead. “Once I confirmed that my district was not within the evacuation zone, I was able to report to work to check for damage.” Her work as a research botanist in cryopreservation is carried out in The Huntington.
“The night before there had been power outages that affected the laboratories and we also had to regret the fall of some trees in the gardens,” he summarizes how this disaster affected his workplace, whose facilities remain closed these days, with only essential personnel. “Once the damage has been assessed, we are working from home and going out as little as possible to avoid breathing the smoke, ashes and particles that are everywhere,” he says.
In a safe place
Despite all this situation, the Zamora researcher He gives thanks “for being well and in a relatively safe place.” And the winds were not going to subside for the rest of the week, so the danger is still very present in the area. “Currently, there are more than one hundred thousand people evacuated, areas without electricity or water and others where water cannot be used due to the loss of pressure and accumulation of toxic debris from the fires,” he explains.
The woman from Zamora has been living in Californiabut he assures that it is the first time that he has witnessed fires of this magnitude “in winter, it is something unheard of,” he qualifies. “Although I have experienced several mega fires near Pasadenanone had spread so quickly to residential areas,” he compares.
“It’s brutal to see Los Angeles as if it were a war zone,” acknowledges the woman from Zamora, who has her hand outstretched. “Now it’s time to get up and help our colleagues who have been affected in any way we can,” she concludes.
