The Woolsey Fire ignited on November 8th, 2018, moving south from Ventura County and Los Angeles County to Malibu. This destructive fire followed the tragedy at Thousand Oaks' Borderline Bar and Grill. My hometown of Simi Valley and the city of Oak Park, where I attended high school, and many other cities evacuated due to the ever-growing fire. The fire was finally contained on November 21st, but not after claiming the homes of many families and friends of the community.
During my time back home, I documented the damage inflicted upon my community. In high school, I ran cross-country for Oak Park so I became intimately familiar with the trails in the surrounding area. These trails felt almost foreign to me as I experienced them with new eyes. They had become highlights along the terrain as the surrounding brush was burnt to the ground. These images represent how the landscape visually changed, but they cannot capture the smell and atmosphere of the area.
