In a past life as a photojournalist I shot a lot of Southern California brush fires, including the 1982 Malibu fire.
At one point, I found myself running down the middle of a four-lane road, the fire literally roaring down the brushy field to my right, shooting flame vortexes a hundred feet in the air.
Dead birds - killed by the heat and lack of oxygen - fell from the sky like hail, and I was constantly bitten by panicked insects fleeing the inferno.
It reminded me of the biblical representation of hell.
With fires again ravaging Southern California, photojournalists again are shooting these fires, some of the best photos of which are found at The Big Picture - the Boston Globe’s photoblog of breaking news stories.
(David McNew/Getty Images)
Paging through a couple dozen extraordinary photographs represents a stunning way to experience a major news event - one that words may not be able to do justice.
TC
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I started my career fighting wildland fires in Southern California almost 40 years ago. As the old cliché goes, as it is difficult to see the forest for the trees, it is difficult to see the world as it burns around you when you are in the thick of the smoke.
These dramatic pictures display the contrast of personal tragedy alongside the allure of the surreal spectacle that most firefighters are often unable to notice at the time.
I will preach the chorus of creating defensible space and getting the hell out before hell comes to your front door.
As a professional in the field, I will say that often the so-called randomness that leaves untouched homes in the middle of burnt devastation is not always all that random.
In addition to creating defensible space—which by definition assumes there will be enough firefighters and fire engines to defend your home—there are many facets of home construction that may determine which house burns and which survives.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/communications_firesafety_100feet.php
Yes, topography and local winds are huge factors but house vents, eaves, roofing, location of flammable hazards, etc. may determine the outcome and are actionable beforehand.
End of lecture—let’s go fishing Tom Chandler.
Yes…. , building materials…. can we spell v-i-n-y-l s-i-d-i-n-g? That’s always a good choice for fire country! Hate to see anyone lose it all in a fire. Best to plan ahead and make your place as safe as possible.
Here’s to fishing through the recession! In the immortal words of W, “bring it on!”
Regards from snowy Canada; Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
I live in Oregon and just like California we have ALOT of fuel sitting waiting to be ignited, now that we are in a full blown recession I think it’s time to put some people to work and start clearing some brush to help minimise future Fires. It has been shown that clearing fuel is cheaper than fighting fires and the most obvious point is the health of the forests, although fire has been a nature part of the cycle for thousands of years so some controled burns and clearing???
There needs to be stronger codes that inforce strict guidlnes for building in fire prone areas…..
An NPR piece on the fires related the story of a fire captain, who said some of the more modern structures are actually fireproof enough that firefighters are actually safer inside them when the fire blew through.
In Ketchum’s big fires of two years ago, a relative’s house was coated in “fire-retardent” goo (paid for by the insurance companies) and while the fire blackened right up to the edge of the thing, there was no damage.
Change for better, I bet.