Christine Chang Photography

For those of you not living in Southern California, today is Day 15 of the brush fires located near Castaic Lake. Friday morning I packed my bags and decided to cover the fires for the back page of the paper. I had an initial appointment with the air force base for the back page initially, but they asked many questions so in the end I hadn’t been security-cleared by the time Friday rolled around. Plus the military is very strict when it comes to articles written about them, they have an image that they have to preserve.

In any case, here are some pictures I took; my credentials are still in the process of being designed and stamped so I couldn’t get to the actual fires, but I did get to take pictures of the camp near Lake Hughes, where around 1700 firemen are stationed, some inmates: inmates are called in for backup whenever necessary, so I couldn’t take a picture of them.

Lots of smoke and ashes cover the blue sky. Residents near this area have been warned to stay indoors, and none have been evacuated. After this scene I saw my first confederate flag flying in Southern California. I’ve seen’em in Texas, but the sight was quite a displacement in So Cal.

The medical unit near Lake Hughes was well stocked. The most requested medicine? Gold Bond Medicated Powder.

Firemen sleep outside for a change instead of inside their tents after their 12 hour shift. The PIO (public information officer) told me that this summer has been quite severe in terms of fires; many firemen do their two week duty just to take a weekend off with their families and return to another shift. This fire is so bad that some firemen don’t return to camp but instead they sleep in the brush closer to the fire, and food and supplies are delivered in.

I guess this fireman wanted a view of the playground. Maybe it reminds him of his kids.

The firemen have portable showers, and the shower company provides a towel folder. The fireman taking me around explained to me that every time they take a shower they are greeted by her; often it is in the morning. She usually gives a “hello” and hands the man a towel. The disposable towels are not made of cloth but each one looks like you pressed about 10 bathroom paper towels together.

Here’s the GISS lady computerizing the map; every day the fire changes somewhat so she has to digitize the map drawn above her.