"California Fires Are Not Wild" came about through the photographs I had taken over the years visiting the small mountain town of Idyllwild, California. Being at the forefront of one of the largest fires seen in California, the Cranston Fire devastated the landscape, burning over 13,000 acres in July 2018. However, the cause of this fire was not natural, instead through arson.
Unfortunately, the issue of fires in the West Coast is not new, as there continues to be increasingly worse fires that ravish the landscape each year. This is not only dangerous for our health, but also the ecosystem that animals and plant life rely on. My photographic collage recognizes the ways in which fire is destructive in more than devastating the land, but also the stories that come out of the fire. I am interested in the ways that land and people are able to heal the scars of such destruction through time and support. Although the fire had destroyed much of the land, it also healed itself over time, resupporting multiple ecosystems in the process.
In order to showcase this growth, I created a series of photographs I had taken before the Cranston fire, photos shortly after the fire, and photos today in order to understand the changes that happened over this time. Along with the photos, there are overlays of articles about fire in the west that engage with the audience to think about the ways in which fire can and continues to affect the West Coast. The photos are also surrounded by foliage and different aspects of the environment collected from Idyllwild to further bring emphasis to the area that I am documenting. Overall, I hope to bring attention to the ways in which fire in the west coast, whether naturally or unnaturally caused, continues to destroy our land, but also think about ways nature heals itself and how we can help aid in this process.
