Cal Fire firefighter survives rare tornado in Scotts Valley
By Felix Cortez
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SCOTTS VALLEY, California (KSBW) — A Cal Fire firefighter who got caught in the middle of that rare tornado in Scotts Valley Saturday says he’s lucky to be alive and says the first thing he thought about was his weeks-old baby girl.
Some of the damage and destruction left behind by that tornado was captured on a cellphone by Cal Fire veteran Manuel Garcia, who got swept up in it.
Tornado in Scotts Valley Scotts Valley tornado categorized as EF1; damaged area reopened “And I see a van in front of me that’s starting to lean over, starting to move, and next thing you know, I’m in midair, not quite spinning around but being turned around and dropped,” Garcia said.
The cellphone video recorded by Garcia and other witnesses shows a department-issued Cal Fire truck lying on its side near the Target on Mt. Hermon Road.
“According to witness reports at the scene, some reports have said that they saw his vehicle at least eight feet in the air due to the wind,” said Jed Wilson, chief of the Santa Cruz area Cal Fire unit.
Tornado in Scotts Valley Scotts Valley continues to recover after tornado, looks to prepare for the next The winds were so strong they ripped the camper right off Garcia’s truck and left his gear blowing in the wind.
“I looked up in the trees. My fire gear is up in the trees,” Garcia said.
Garcia said the event lasted just seconds, trapping Garcia in his truck it would be several bystanders came to his aid, helping to break the front windshield so he could get out. And when he did he immediately recorded the aftermath.
“At that time, I looked around and noticed there were more than five cars flipped over, debris all over the roadway, power poles just leaning and I’m thinking to myself, like, what just happened? Like, we don’t get tornadoes here but this looks like a tornado,” Garcia said.
Fortunately, Garcia walked away with only minor scrapes and bruises.
“To be involved in that is a significant event in your career, so we’re just making sure that he has all the support that he needs, he’s with his family, he’s resting up, especially during the holidays, and then we’ll get him back to work when he’s ready,” Garcia said.
Garcia is a 17-year veteran of Cal Fire, and he says he plans to return to the force as soon as his doctor gives him the OK.
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