This Fire Season

I must have been sensing something because not long after my last post the Bridge Fire began burning in the hills directly near my home. I’m no stranger to fire season, though I don’t remember them being this bad when I was a kid. I’ve watched the hillsides near me burn, then renew, then burn again a few times over the years. I was even evacuated once in the middle of the night with three very confused dogs. I was genuinely optimistic about this fire as it started since it was in relative close proximity to the two fire stations nearby. Much has changed in SoCal fire defense of the last few decades, so I thought they would nip it pretty quickly.

Our local fire department acted quickly and communicated constantly for the first few days, even posting a video to social media illustrating how they kept the fire from reaching our homes and structures. Our home was spared, but the fire then began to act aggressively and spread fast to mountain communities to the north and east. Thanks to technology and ongoing communication, I didn’t panic too much as large smoke columns filled the sky.

As I write this, the fire has grown past 50,000 acres and is minimally contained with the area closest to us being classified as contained. Several mountain communities have been devastated and my heart hurts for them. I’m also currently currently worried about another wildfire, the Line Fire which has spread dangerously close to my childhood summer camp. Just four years ago, the El Dorado Fire had actually entered the same camp and was saved by firefighters already there.

It’s in situations like these where, not too long ago, I would’ve thought “grab a camera and go document.” And certainly I could go document from certain vantage points. But honestly it’s not always a great idea. The air quality is bad, and the last thing firefighters and emergencies workers need are more cars clogging up roadsides near the blaze, most of which are closed to begin with. There are photographers who specialize in these situations, even photographers who seek out storms, tornadoes, and fires on purpose. As of yet, I’m not one of those photographers.