Air Attack Images

The East Side Fire burned over 1,200 acres just south of Red Lodge, Montana on the afternoon of Monday, April 20th. The fire drew a heavy aerial response from resources as far away as Colorado, South Dakota, and Southern California. Ground resources from multiple surrounding counties came to assist Red Lodge Fire Rescue with structure protection as the fire force evacuations and road closures. Crazy way to end April in Montana!

It turns out Friday was both World Aviation Day and World Photography Day! For the aviation part of the day, I choose to post a couple stills I shot at the Electra Fire way back in July. For the photography part of the day, I included some more artistic images that I've never shared before, some stills from the Dixie Fire, the Glass Fire and a picture of my truck in addition to a self portrait. I also wanted to let you all know that I have recently begun attending college in Montana so expect a decrease in the amount of new content I'm able to post. Montana's media laws are no where near those of CA unfortunately! Please scroll down for a description of each photo!

1. The first shot features a Cal Fire Captain and Firefighter hiking back up a dozer line while helicopter 4CK drops into a ravine to knock down a hot spot.

2. 4CK turns final on the way back to support crews cutting handline in the bottom of the drainage.

3. An apocalyptic looking scene is left after the Dixie Fire made a hard run through the intersection of Highway 89 at Highway 70. The fire would go on to burn over 1,300 structures and almost a million acres becoming the single largest fire in CA State history.

4. Residents of Napa County watch as the Glass fire burns around the area below Angwin. Hours later the fire would spot across the valley and make an aggressive run into the Santa Rosa area that just a few years earlier had been affected by the Tubbs and Nuns Fires of 2017.

5. A heavy inversion layer created some of the thickest smoke I've ever encountered on a fire. This shot of the Feather River was taken at 1:15 in the afternoon when it should have been bright and sunny. While the inversion layer kept aircraft from working almost all day, it also kept fire activity to a minimum until it lifted.

6. In a total break from my normal fire photography, some friends and I went out and ended up taking photos of my truck. Thanks to Olivia for the pro light painting.

7. Probably the only self portrait I've ever taken, its a picture of me on the Maddocks training burn sometime last year. If you do see me on a fire, now you know what I look like! Or at least what my camera looks like!