Bryson

I’ve never had the chance to cover wildfires, but this summer provided quite a few opportunities to run around in a yellow Nomex. The Bryson Fire started out near Lake San Antonio in a very sparsely populated area, about a two hour drive from Salinas. Working in a city, fire was always elusive. The Jersey City Fire Department had a special talent for beating me to a scene and putting out the flames. Patiently driving for two hours to cover spot news seems almost contradictory. I was certain there wouldn’t be any fire left.

But that really isn’t how wildfires work. As I drove closer to King City and Lake San Antonio, I could see smoke billowing up hundreds of feet into the sky. The fire was burning through over 3,000 acres of land, which is still relatively small compared to most of California’s fires this summer, but impressive to a new photographer that had never seen them up close.

CAL Fire officials at the scene moved planes, helicopters, bulldozers and men around like a chess game through their radios. It is incredibly complex fighting a wildfire, trying to contain a blaze that you really simply can’t just extinguish. The firefighters often reminded me of friendly generals in a game of war, each telling me about the best strategy.