The rapidly-moving flames of the Caldor wildfire continue to create damage in parts of California. It has forced people to leave their homes, leading to mass abandonment. Amidst the chaos, a video of a man from South Lake Tahoe has gone viral on social media. In the video, he’s seen spreading just a hint of relief as he plays the violin.
While people made an attempt to escape the havoc and the roads remained blocked due to traffic, Mel Smothers performed with his violin and distracted the crowd from the apprehensive situation.
In the video, Mel is seen playing the Tennessee Waltz on the violet. The 16-second clip shows him standing outside his yellow truck, trying to calm the anxious residents.
"There was a little bit of anxiety there. Like, is the fire going to catch up to us while we’re sitting there?" said Mel to The Press Democrat.
A climate photojournalist, Kent Porter, uploaded he video on Twitter. It was originally captured by Alvin A.H. Jornada, a photojournalist with SF Chronicle.
Ever since it has been uploaded, the clip has gone viral and netizens compared it to the scene from Titanic in which the band continued playing even as the ship was sinking.
See Twitter's reaction to the video here:
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