Wildfire

Flying embers shoot past a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter as winds pick up during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
Flying embers shoot past a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter as winds pick up during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
A woman firefighter with the Smokey Bear hotshots heads for dinner at the fire camp of the Basin Complex Fire. Many of the elite Hotshot crews have a woman or two, and while the profession is still overwhelmingly male, women are slowly entering at many levels.
A woman firefighter with the Smokey Bear hotshots heads for dinner at the fire camp of the Basin Complex Fire. Many of the elite Hotshot crews have a woman or two, and while the profession is still overwhelmingly male, women are slowly entering at many levels.
A helicopter drops red fire retardant on the advancing fire to slow it while bulldozers finish fire breaks further down the canyon at the La Brea Fire, California.
A helicopter drops red fire retardant on the advancing fire to slow it while bulldozers finish fire breaks further down the canyon at the La Brea Fire, California.
Hidden fires move slowly down a canyon as smoke settles in the cool, evening air at the Basin Complex Fire, near Carmel Valley, California.
Hidden fires move slowly down a canyon as smoke settles in the cool, evening air at the Basin Complex Fire, near Carmel Valley, California.
Glowing smoke fills the sky and sparkling embers dot the hills as night settles on the La Brea Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, California.
Glowing smoke fills the sky and sparkling embers dot the hills as night settles on the La Brea Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, California.
Daniel Diaz, a sawyer in the Kern Valley Hotshots, ends the day carrying his 25 lb (12 kg) chainsaw up a hill after clearing heavy brush around a spot fire at the La Brea Fire.
Daniel Diaz, a sawyer in the Kern Valley Hotshots, ends the day carrying his 25 lb (12 kg) chainsaw up a hill after clearing heavy brush around a spot fire at the La Brea Fire.
A Dalton Hotshot firefighter clears a three foot (90cm) line down to bare soil around an errant fire that has jumped the fire break. Much of the dangerous work is performed by elite ground crews in steep terrain with 55 lb. (25 kg) packs, 25 lb.(11 kg) chainsaws, shovels and rakes, and two gallons (3.78 l) of water for a ten hour shift.
A Dalton Hotshot firefighter clears a three foot (90cm) line down to bare soil around an errant fire that has jumped the fire break. Much of the dangerous work is performed by elite ground crews in steep terrain with 55 lb. (25 kg) packs, 25 lb.(11 kg) chainsaws, shovels and rakes, and two gallons (3.78 l) of water for a ten hour shift.
A bulldozer takes a quick break from cutting fire line during the La Brea fire. Bulldozer operators work through smoke and flame on steep hillsides, day and night. They are crucial for clearing wide fire breaks, but they are expensive and destructive and cannot be used in pristine wildland preserves.
A bulldozer takes a quick break from cutting fire line during the La Brea fire. Bulldozer operators work through smoke and flame on steep hillsides, day and night. They are crucial for clearing wide fire breaks, but they are expensive and destructive and cannot be used in pristine wildland preserves.
Yucca plants dotting the hillside are all the remain after a hot fire, burning through old-growth chaparral bushes and trees scorched the earth, what firefighters called "moonscaping". The intense heat makes the soil water resistant, leading to landslides, and reducing the amount of water the watershed can hold.
Yucca plants dotting the hillside are all the remain after a hot fire, burning through old-growth chaparral bushes and trees scorched the earth, what firefighters called “moonscaping”. The intense heat makes the soil water resistant, leading to landslides, and reducing the amount of water the watershed can hold.
A firefighting helicopter flies into thick smoke, a dangerous maneuver without visability in hilly territory, at the La Brea Fire in California. Firefighters are constantly balancing the risks of flying at night, in smoke or high wind, with the benefits of being able to use air support to fight fire.
A firefighting helicopter flies into thick smoke, a dangerous maneuver without visability in hilly territory, at the La Brea Fire in California. Firefighters are constantly balancing the risks of flying at night, in smoke or high wind, with the benefits of being able to use air support to fight fire.
Minutes after firefighters at the Basin Complex Fire set a controlled fire to clear the fire break, all that remain of the brush are hot twigs and bare ground.
Minutes after firefighters at the Basin Complex Fire set a controlled fire to clear the fire break, all that remain of the brush are hot twigs and bare ground.
The sky is reflected in a Sierra Mountain lake behind wildflowers — the clean air, blue water and green land that citizens want without the fire that is required to maintain it in California's fire adapted ecology.
The sky is reflected in a Sierra Mountain lake behind wildflowers — the clean air, blue water and green land that citizens want without the fire that is required to maintain it in California’s fire adapted ecology.
A helicopter drops water to cool a spot fire so Forest Service Hotshots can put it out by hand.
A helicopter drops water to cool a spot fire so Forest Service Hotshots can put it out by hand.
Firefighters stand and salute the passing funeral procession of two Los Angeles firemen killed at the Station Fire. They two men's truck went over a cliff as they fled the fire. The job can be dangerous, and injury and death are always concerns.
Firefighters stand and salute the passing funeral procession of two Los Angeles firemen killed at the Station Fire. They two men’s truck went over a cliff as they fled the fire. The job can be dangerous, and injury and death are always concerns.
The Texas Canyon Hotshots hitch a ride from the fire line to their trucks during the evening shift change at the La Brea Fire.
The Texas Canyon Hotshots hitch a ride from the fire line to their trucks during the evening shift change at the La Brea Fire.
Tents at a spike camp set up on the opposite side of the fire from the main fire camp. A large camp is required to field the thousands of firefighters required to tackle a major fire, such as the La Brea Fire. The costs can run into the millions of dollars.
Tents at a spike camp set up on the opposite side of the fire from the main fire camp. A large camp is required to field the thousands of firefighters required to tackle a major fire, such as the La Brea Fire. The costs can run into the millions of dollars.
Fire burned hot and fast, sometimes over 20 feet high, in the chaparral-covered hills during the La Brea fire, at the Los Padres National Forest in California. Some of the land had not burned in 90 years due to fire suppression. It naturally burns each five years.
Fire burned hot and fast, sometimes over 20 feet high, in the chaparral-covered hills during the La Brea fire, at the Los Padres National Forest in California. Some of the land had not burned in 90 years due to fire suppression. It naturally burns each five years.
A smoke plume from a burning hillside rises quickly, changing the daylight to yellow and reddening the sun, at the La Brea Fire. Smoke from wildfires brings complaints from those living nearby, a strong political force that effects how wildland fire is fought and managed.
A smoke plume from a burning hillside rises quickly, changing the daylight to yellow and reddening the sun, at the La Brea Fire. Smoke from wildfires brings complaints from those living nearby, a strong political force that effects how wildland fire is fought and managed.
Flame from the fire he has just lit chases a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter uphill to the safe zone during a night burning operation, an attempt to cut off the main fire, at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
Flame from the fire he has just lit chases a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter uphill to the safe zone during a night burning operation, an attempt to cut off the main fire, at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
Joseph Darling of the Kern Valley Hotshots watches the fire line at the end of the day during the La Brea Fire in California.
Joseph Darling of the Kern Valley Hotshots watches the fire line at the end of the day during the La Brea Fire in California.
Embers from a backfire set by firefighters swarm across a fire break and threaten to spread the fire in the heavy winds during a night time controlled burn at the Station Fire, near Los Angeles. Weather is the least predictable of the factors that determine a wildfire, and a quick change in the wind can result in catastrophe — a reminder that wildfire is far more powerful than man.
Embers from a backfire set by firefighters swarm across a fire break and threaten to spread the fire in the heavy winds during a night time controlled burn at the Station Fire, near Los Angeles. Weather is the least predictable of the factors that determine a wildfire, and a quick change in the wind can result in catastrophe — a reminder that wildfire is far more powerful than man.
US Forest Service "hotshot" firefighters emerge from the forest after setting advances fires.
US Forest Service “hotshot” firefighters emerge from the forest after setting advances fires.
A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 drops a load of retardant on the Station Fire near Los Angeles. The airtanker can carry 12,000 gallons of water or retardant, costs $41,000 per day, looks great on TV, and is best suited for flat terrain, not the steep, hilly canyons of the Station Fire.
A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 drops a load of retardant on the Station Fire near Los Angeles. The airtanker can carry 12,000 gallons of water or retardant, costs $41,000 per day, looks great on TV, and is best suited for flat terrain, not the steep, hilly canyons of the Station Fire.
A woman on the Chuchupati Flight Crew 530 uses her "Pulaski" tool to clear a circle around a spot fire that jumped over the fire break at the La Brea Fire.
A woman on the Chuchupati Flight Crew 530 uses her “Pulaski” tool to clear a circle around a spot fire that jumped over the fire break at the La Brea Fire.
A US Forest Service bulldozer cuts a fire line through oak forest, scraping off only the top layer of burnable ground cover. While bulldozer lines are essential for stopping fires, the fire breaks mar the natural beauty of national and state parks and cause erosion.
A US Forest Service bulldozer cuts a fire line through oak forest, scraping off only the top layer of burnable ground cover. While bulldozer lines are essential for stopping fires, the fire breaks mar the natural beauty of national and state parks and cause erosion.
A flaring backfire forces a Crane Valley Hotshots firefighter to move into the safe area before it marches off toward the main fire. Backfires are planned fires set by firefighters, one of the main methods of wildland firefighting, and the least environmentally harmful way deprive the main fire of it's fuel.
A flaring backfire forces a Crane Valley Hotshots firefighter to move into the safe area before it marches off toward the main fire. Backfires are planned fires set by firefighters, one of the main methods of wildland firefighting, and the least environmentally harmful way deprive the main fire of it’s fuel.
Dead trees slowly crumble over new growth at the site of the 2001 Gap Fire, in the mountains above Truckee, California.
Dead trees slowly crumble over new growth at the site of the 2001 Gap Fire, in the mountains above Truckee, California.
Burned forest from the Station Fire forms a backdrop for the storage shed of a water depot in the Angeles National Forest. The demand to protect structures built in forests (the "urban interface") rather than environmental concerns determines a great deal of wildfire management policy.
Burned forest from the Station Fire forms a backdrop for the storage shed of a water depot in the Angeles National Forest. The demand to protect structures built in forests (the “urban interface”) rather than environmental concerns determines a great deal of wildfire management policy.
An airtanker loaded with fire retardant circles before a giant smoke plume from the La Brea Fire as it waits to drop its red liquid load.
An airtanker loaded with fire retardant circles before a giant smoke plume from the La Brea Fire as it waits to drop its red liquid load.
Turbulent 20-foot flames from burning chaparral bushes race uphill at nighttime controlled burn at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.
Turbulent 20-foot flames from burning chaparral bushes race uphill at nighttime controlled burn at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.