'Heart of fire': When California's wildfire overtook homes and brought about complete destruction
Images of California’s wildfires, capturing “the overwhelming size of the inferno and its emotional impact on both firefighters and the displaced”, won AFP photographer Josh Edelson the Covering Climate Now award
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Covering Climate Now, a global media project devoted to reporting on global warming, honoured Agence France-Presse among the winners of its first journalism award. Josh Edelson, an AFP photographer based in California who specialises in covering wildfires, won in the photography category for his series “Heart of Fire.” In the series, shot in September 2020, Edelson documented the wildfires burning in California, capturing “the overwhelming size of the inferno and its emotional impact on both firefighters and the displaced,” as per the website. This image, a part of the winning series, shows a house in Fresno Country being enveloped in the Creek Fire flames. AFP
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Speaking on the winning series, Edelson was quoted as saying, “I like being able to show what happens on this planet. In 10 years covering wildfires in California, I’ve never seen anything like what this year brought. The new normal now seems to be that every fire season brings a new surprise.” This image of Bidwell Bar Bridge in Lake Oroville during the Bear fire in Oroville, California last year looked like it was running straight into the heart of the flames. AFP
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People watch a fire from a vineyard in Healdsburg, California. According to Edelson, the flames of the Bear fire at one point leapt from one forty-metre treetop to another. He said the fire was so severe that Berry Creek, what used to be a pretty country village, was totally reduced to ashes. AFP
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Firefighting crews were spread thin trying to control the flames, but it was an impossible task, considering how many fires were there. Edelson describing the scene, called it a wall of fire. He says covering a fire can be very tempting, but one needs to move very quickly. It’s dangerous, but very fascinating, he said. AFP
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The fire brought untold damage on the area. According to reports, a million hectares of land – the size of New Jersey — burnt down. A few of his images, including this one of a melted slide at Pine Ridge school, went viral. Some of his images were shared by Hillary Clinton and even former President Donald Trump shared one. AFP
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Many people, like this family in Vacaville, California lost their homes. They were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The AFP photographer says that he often hears firefighters say: “This is unprecedented.” Now, that phrase seems to be the new normal. AFP
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Resident Katie Giannuzzi reacts with joy as she finds her cat Gus in a drain amidst the burned remains of her home in Vacaville, California. Speaking on his images, Edelson said: “If I could also find a way to make it so that my pictures make a positive difference somehow, that would make me feel like my purpose here has been fulfilled.” AFP
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