David Walters, a member of the 4×200 m freestyle alongside which clinched the gold medal at Beijing 2008, has been on the forefront of the Los Angeles Fires.
The wildfire in the Californian city began on Tuesday, engulfing several swaths of the city.
200,000 citizens are currently under the evacuation process, of which Walters, who has been part of the LA County Fire Department for almost 10 years, is a part.
“We’re pretty much trying to keep what is left here standing,” Walters told News Nation. “And so, we’re not laying down, we’re staying our positions…I did sleep on top of the hose bed last night. Just staying ready to do what we can still do.”
The firefighting crews are working continuously and replaced in order to give their other teammates time to recover.
“I’m very sorry for the residents that live here. We did try our best, but we got our butts kicked. We’re getting some rest now and we’re all trying to get our nutrition up and our health up so we can stay active,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States Olympic great Gary Hall Jr. was one of the survivors of the wildfires engulfing his house and 10 Olympic medals.
Hall earned these medals — five gold, three silver, and two bronze — over the course of three Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, and Athens 2004).
The pool where he teaches Olympic aspirants was also destroyed.
Talking about the situation, he said there was a complete logjam nearby Sunset Boulevard, and people ran for safety, abandoning their cars.