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A couple who fled the ferocious, wind-driven blazes of the Eaton Fire are hoping their survival story will help draw attention to the needs of people with disabilities during natural disasters.
Galen Buckwalter, who is paralyzed from the waist down, saw the glow from the wildfires race down the San Gabriel Mountains and toward their home in a community in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, according to KTLA. told Rachel Menitoff.
Buckwalter, who is paralyzed from the waist down and lives with his wife and caregiver, Deborah, knew he had to leave home soon, but there was a problem. The wheelchair-accessible van that the couple usually uses for transportation was inside the store, so there was no way a ride-sharing service could enter the evacuation zone.
Buckwalter, who uses a power wheelchair to get around and is also a Caltech research participant with a brain implant, had no choice but to put his emotions aside and use his wheelchair to escape. .
“The wind was just howling,” he recalled. “When the wind was blowing, I felt stiff.”
Sierra Madre resident Galen Buckwalter was seen in the electric wheelchair he used to escape the flames of the Eaton Fire. (KTLA) Sierra Madre resident Galen Buckwalter was seen in the electric wheelchair he used to escape the flames of the Eaton Fire. (KTLA) FEMA recovery center in Los Angeles after the Palisades and Eaton fires. (KTLA)
Deborah told KTLA that it was difficult to separate for safe evacuation.
“It was really hard to see him walk away and do something like that, and it was really hard for us not to be able to work together on whatever the next step was,” she explained.
Altadena man shares unimaginable loss after losing disabled father and brother in Eaton fire
Buckwalter said he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him during his escape, driving a mile through dark, debris-covered streets to get back to safety.
“I felt a strange sense of flow, almost stillness,” he said. “I had a mission and a goal and all I had to do was execute.”
In another tragic evacuation, staff at Pasadena Park Skilled Nursing Center evacuated 93 residents to safety, many of whom were also wheelchair users.
Currently, FEMA is establishing teams to assist people displaced by wildfires, including those with disabilities and those with physical limitations or who require American Sign Language or language translation. This includes people who own it.
“We will provide as much access as we can,” Laura Forbes, FEMA’s communications access specialist, told KTLA. “If you need a wheelchair to get to and from the center for registration, we have one available.”
At least two victims of the Eaton and Palisades fires had busy lives and died as flames engulfed their homes.
The Buckwalters now hope that elected officials will hold daily press conferences and respond to the needs of people in the disability community.
Mr Buckwalter added: “We can’t have accessible vans going up and down every street, but we can plan and it just doesn’t seem like we’re ready.”
For others with disabilities, Forbes is very knowledgeable about special needs accommodations and can be reached at 202-705-9500.
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