12 Kolkata: Goutam Chattopadhyay, a Konnagar native, can finally breathe easy in Pasadena, California — a city that has been his home since 1994. The wildfire in his neighbourhood burnt down scores of homes. But his house in the distant land was saved by a whisker. Chattopadhyay and his wife Sulekha returned to their home after spending an anxious week when their lives had hit a pause.
"Wildfires in the forests around the city (Pasadena) aren't uncommon.Bigg Boss Finale NewsBigg Boss 18 Grand Finale: Top 6 contestants to fight for the trophyBigg Boss Tamil 8 grand finale : Who will be winner of the show tonight?BB18: Chum Darang gets evicted from the showBut what changed this time is the timing of the fires. While they always happened between Sept and Nov in the past, this time they struck in Jan. That made the crucial difference because, unlike Sept-Nov when winds blow at 50-65 km/hr and at the most at 95-110 km/hr, the Santa Ana winds in Jan are much stronger. This year, we had wind gusts of over 160 km/hr, and they fanned the fire, making firefighting much more difficult," said Chattopadhyay, a senior scientist at NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Chattopadhyay did electronics engineering from BE Shibpur in 1987. He then worked at TIFR, Pune, and at the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope with radio astronomer Govind Swaroop before moving to the US. He had completed his PhD from Caltech in 2000.
Sulekha, who works with the California Environmental Protection Agency and hails from Pune, says the shift in timing of the fire is primarily owing to climate change and fears wildfires will continue to be a threat. "Even planes could not be used to douse the fire," she pointed out. The couple recalled the Jan 7 evening when they spotted the raging fire in the hills just when they had sat down for dinner around 7.30 pm."It started in Eaton Canyon, around 8 km away, and spread rapidly, fanned by the strong winds. Realising the evacuation would be imminent, we immediately packed important documents, including passports, certificates, insurance papers, some clothes, and some emotional stuff like parents' photographs, loaded them into our car, and left for Arcadia, where a nephew lives," he recounted.
By the time they were driving out, the phones were ringing in the homes with residents being ordered to immediately evacuate. In the hours that followed, several homes in Pasadena were gutted. "We couldn't sleep the whole night, worrying that our house would be reduced to ashes. A neighbour's call in the morning brought huge relief. The fire was contained barely 100m away," said Chattopadhyay.
"Till now, more than 180 colleagues at JPL and 50 Caltech faculty and staff lost their homes. It will take a long time before those who work at the Lab can overcome the personal loss," the senior scientist said.