photographs from my first California wildfire

What a surreal experience. There really are no words that can describe watching communities burn.

28,000 people have been evacuated. Evacuation centers have been evacuated. I can't imagine the terror and pure exhaustion of the people living this nightmare. These fires just keep getting bigger.

One fire wasn't enough, we have two burning 30 miles apart from one another. Both fires started about 8 miles from where we are staying, yet by some stroke of undeserved luck, both fires were fueled by wind blowing east away from Ukiah.

The Ranch Fire (threatening the communities of Upper Lake and Blue Lake) is on the left and the River Fire (threatening the towns of Lakeport and Kelseyville) is on the right. We just helplessly watched. We are still watching because these fires are not out.

Both fires quickly moved from Mendocino County into Lake County where 83,000 acres of family farms, orchards, ranches, vineyards, and rural communities have burned.

Non-stop firefighters, helicopters, fixed wing bombers, sirens, and emergency texts sent by the local sheriff... that's all anybody has known for going on five days.

The wind is unpredictable, there is no way of knowing the fires path. The community simply sits and waits and grieves.

Word travels quickly, but the news is old by the time you hear it. The wind changes everything in seconds and there is no truth revealed until the fire is out.

Full containment is expected August 8th. That's a lifetime for someone living in a make shift shelter inside a middle school gym. (They can't even evacuate to Ukiah because the roads are all on fire.)

This is what it looks like tonight. Poor photographs but it's intense to see the horizon light up orange.

I have no idea what's next for these families. Once the mandatory evacuation is lifted I plan on taking my camera over there to find out.

© ramsay photography @sloe