From Ashes

Thomas Fire in the days following

“From Ashes” documents the aftermath of California wildfires over the last five years. These photographs capture not only the destruction in the days following, but also the much slower, gradual recovery of land and spirit. There is a lingering fear, and visual reminder, of devastation. Environmental effects can be seen for years to come in the charred and dried landscapes likely to ignite again. There are economic consequences: buildings destroyed, roads inaccessible, jobs lost. As time passes, some are able to rebuild, whereas others choose or are forced to leave. The 2018 Camp Fire claimed 86 lives and 11,000 homes. At the one-year mark only eleven homes had been rebuilt. It is important that these stories of humanitarian crisis are shared. It is my job to document, to share stories, but also to remember: to remember the lives lost, the fire survivors, the towns that once were and that will be once again. Photography has an immortalizing quality that ensures once beloved places, ways of being, and people live on. The towns of Greenville, Paradise, Santa Rosa and so many others live on in my photographs and in my heart.

Dixie Fire one month later