Some of the consulate’s employees work remotely.
The Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles has opened again on Thursday and is in operation, says the head of the consulate Okko-Pekka Salmimies.
– The consulate is open and we were actually able to return to the office this morning.
– Yesterday afternoon, we had to leave the evacuation mode due to the fact that the landlord anticipated the situation a bit and announced that the office building would be closed. We are not in an evacuation zone, nor are we in a warning zone, says Salmimies.
Several wildfires are raging around Los Angeles. More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and so far the fires have claimed five lives.
The consulate is located a few kilometers from the border of the warning zone. If the situation worsens, you must leave the warning area at the request of the authorities.
– We are in operation. Some of the employees have been assigned to work remotely, me and my deputy are here in the office.
It has not come to Salmimie’s knowledge that any of the Finns in the area have been in trouble because of the fires.
– The current information is that about 200 people have made a travel declaration. We know that some Finnish citizens live in the fire area. We have not received a single request for help or notification that someone is in distress due to the fire. We have been very calm in that regard.
Salmimies says that the fires are detectable by the senses, but not alarming yet. Air quality is closely monitored.
– The air quality has deteriorated here, and especially last night, when returning home, I actually started to smell a strong smell of smoke. Now, purely sensory-wise, the situation in the morning is maybe a little better.
According to Salmimie, the Palisades hills do not have the same thick smoke in the sector opening from the consulate as yesterday.
– The authorities have informed that the air quality in this area of our office is very poor.
– This is exactly what we are following now. If there are toxic gases, then of course we will move further away so that there are no related health hazards.