Fire
Media: Series of six digital photographs
Prints: undetermined
Date: 2020
These six photographs, shot from a moving vehicle with a cell phone camera, document our evacuation away from the Creek Fire on September 6, 2020.
On the last night of our six day hike, we bathed in the creek and set up camp viewing the sun through a toxic orange sky. We were unsure if new fires had broke out nearby or if winds were moving smoke from fires that we knew about 100 miles to the South near Mt. Whitney. By about 2am the smoke rolled in and the almost full moon was bright orange. I put on my N95 mask which I then wore for the next 17 hours.
Around noon the next day, we exited the hike to find evacuation orders for the Lake Edison area, a dead end road, deep in the Sierras. Driving out, exiting cars, ours included, were corralled by first responders to a waiting area. Shortly after, we were informed that the fires were all around us and we would be evacuated via helicopter when visibility increased flight success at landing. Several hours later, 50+ cars, were escorted by a fire marshal through the fire on both sides of the road. Huge gratitude to the civic leadership, coordinated response and firefighter professionals. I have deep sorrow for all the animals, birds, insects their ecosystem affected by these fires. We’ve know about human induced climate change for over 50 years.