Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Photographing under fire: Covering the Silverado fire

Cold, dry and windy … very windy. That was Monday.

When the Santa Ana winds kick up, firefighters are put on alert, and so are journalists.

My colleagues and I were all out Monday and Tuesday covering the fires in Orange County, trying to capture the story of the firefighters and residents in the path of the flames.

Our priority is safety. First we make sure we don’t get in the way of the firefighters, and then we set out to make pictures.

Register photographers all carry safety gear – fire-resistant turnouts, along with helmets, boots and gloves and masks.

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Smoke rolls across Portola Parkway at The 241 Toll Road during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A mouse shivers after emerging from the bushes on near Portola Parkway at The 241 Toll Road during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle flames along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Flames pop up along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Flames pop up along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Flames pop up along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Smoke rolls across Portola Parkway at The 241 Toll Road during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The sun sets though a smoke-filled sky during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Brush and a palm tree burn during the Silverado Fire near Alton Parkway in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle flames along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Flames pop up along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A fire line moves across a hill near Irvine Blvd. in the Altair Community during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Newport Beach firefighter keep an eye on a fire line as it moves across a hill near Irvine Blvd. in the Altair Community during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle flames along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: A rabbit sits on near Portola Parkway at The 241 Toll Road during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Crews battle the Silverado Fire along The 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • IRVINE, CA – OCTOBER 26: Flames pop up along The 241 Toll Road at Portola Parkway during the Silverado Fire in Irvine, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Riverside firefighters keep an eye on the Silverado Fire near Alton Parkway in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, October 26, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Monday morning, I threw my fire safety gear into my car and headed off to work. It wasn’t long before I got a call from my editor to get over to Irvine where the Silverado Fire was already at 2,000 acres.

When I got to the Orange County Great Park area, the sky had turned an ominous burnt orange. The fire had jumped over houses and was burning on the 133 Freeway near Irvine Boulevard. I stopped there for a short while, made some pictures of the empty, smoke-filled roadway and then headed toward the flames.

I drove east on Portola Parkway and when I arrived at the 241 Toll Road, flames were headed down the hill and the edges of the freeway were on fire. A huge fireball was burning next to the toll road sign and wind-whipped debris was flying through the air.

As I stood on the Portola Parkway bridge, the flames jumped to the brush near me and the wind blew thick smoke across the top of the bridge creating on and off white-out conditions.

During a break in the wind a small, ash-covered mouse, or perhaps a rat, emerged from the kindling and sat on the sidewalk, shivering. I thought for sure, as I approached, it would scurry away. But it just sat there, looking scared, staring at my camera as I lay on the ground taking its picture.

It’s worth noting that for photojournalists covering wildfires, our cars are our mobile offices. Between shooting fire scenes we sit in the driver’s seat, with the AC on, processing pictures on our laptops and transmitting them to the newsroom.

After following a fire line near Portola High School, I sat in my car working on pictures as it got dark outside. I was able to make a nice photo of the red sun setting over palm trees before heading to another location.

I got word the fire was headed toward Lake Forest and found myself on Irvine Boulevard enveloped in a cloud of smoke that looked like the thick tule fog often experienced in the Central Valley. I slowly headed out as I found a clearing and made my way to Antonio Parkway.

In the darkness, the glow of the fire lit up the sky near the Irvine/Lake Forest border as crews were setting backfires to protect homes.

After an hour in the dark, it was time to head home where, after spending 10 hours at the fire, I was greeted by my 11-year-old daughter with: “Ewwww, you smell like very, very, very dry tri-trip.”

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