Tornado Alley (PROG)

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AP photographers on pictures capturing horror and emotions of LA fires
The eye behind the lens:

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated 8:55 AM CST, January 14, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As uncontrolled blazes have turned large swaths of Los Angeles into hellscapes the last week, Associated Press photographers have been on the frontlines. They have captured burning so intense that it lights the night sky, people so shocked they have a hard time putting sentences together and destruction so complete that what stands out is the little that survived.

Balancing the need for safety with the risks of getting close to wildfires, these photojournalists have also had to manage their emotions. Seeing unimaginable destruction and suffering is hard. And for some, Los Angeles is home.

Here 12 photographers, each selecting a picture they made the last week, share a little about it.


The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

“I chose this picture because it speaks to the enormity of the Los Angeles fires. I made the photo as winds showered embers down the streets, the fire rapidly burning down through Palisades, destroying block after block. Having covered dozens of wildfires, some the largest in California’s history, I immediately knew the scale of destruction was unlike anything I’d seen before.”

—Ethan Swope

https://apnews.com/article/california-los-angeles-wildfires-photos-8c2f2767b3722ccbb98d6e78a563c1f4