A man who earned attention for cleaning up Eaton Canyon in Pasadena, California, shared a heartbreaking update after being forced to evacuate the area amid wildfires this week.
What's happening?
In 2019, Edgar McGregor shared on Twitter, now X, that he had cleaned up the entire park while embarking on hikes.
"I DID IT!!! YES!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!" he said. "103 days. 103 hikes. 103 buckets of trash!
"Today after walking to our waterfalls and back, I failed to find enough trash to fill HALF my bucket, let alone the entire thing. I think I have successfully cleaned up my entire park!!!"
Late Tuesday, McGregor posted that he and his family were evacuating their home as the Eaton Canyon wildfire took hold. He also noted that earlier in the day, he had undertaken his 1,992nd trash cleanup in the area.
I am evacuating my home and my family. We are set to leave at a moment's notice. Car is packed. #EatonFire
— Edgar McGregor (@edgarrmcgregor) January 8, 2025
Today was trash pickup day 1,992.
My park is gone. I took this picture just a few hours ago. pic.twitter.com/ERAY3okpLc
"My park is gone," he said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued an evacuation order for Eaton Canyon, as well as multiple other areas, most notably the area surrounding the Palisades Fire, on Tuesday.
As of 10:30 a.m. PT Wednesday, the department reported that 2,227 acres of land had burned in the Eaton Fire and 2,925 acres had burned in the Palisades Fire.
A combination of low humidity, dry vegetation following drought, and winds of up to 100 mph led to the formation and rapid spread of the fire.
LAist reported that 50,000 people were under evacuation orders, while a further 46,000 were under evacuation warnings.
🗣️ What would you do if natural disasters were threatening your home?
🔘 Move somewhere else 🌎
🔘 Reinforce my home 🏠
🔘 Nothing 🤷
🔘 This is happening already 😬
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Why is the Eaton Fire so concerning?
The explosive spread of the wildfire put a number of Californians in imminent danger. Property destruction, loss of livelihoods, and increased risk or exacerbation of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses because of wildfire smoke inhalation were among the additional issues.
California has experienced plenty of wildfire events over the years, but that doesn't make them any easier to deal with. In fact, many residents are now having to contend with unavailable or pulled home insurance coverage since providers are unwilling to protect the properties and possessions of people who live in wildfire-prone areas.
But with the rising global temperature as a result of human-caused pollution increasing the length, strength, regularity, and likelihood of wildfires and other extreme weather events, it doesn't look like respite is on the way.
Cal Fire reported 8,024 wildfires in 2024 that burned 1.1 million acres of land and destroyed 1,716 structures. That was the highest number of events and the most land burned since 2021 (8,835 wildfires and 2.6 million acres).
What should Californians do amid the wildfires?
Locals can stay updated with the help of fire and police agencies on social media and heed all evacuation orders if and when they come.
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