Before the wildfire comes a decision: what to save. It often comes down to “the smallest things,” Dawn Deleon told ABC7. The Mountain Fire destroyed her house in Ventura County, California this week.
Cats, dogs and horses. Family photos and SD cards and mementos. A single bag of clothes.
It’s a choice becoming ever more common as human-caused climate change adds fuel to the destructive wrath of wildfires around the world, especially in already fire-prone landscapes like Southern California, with its strong Santa Ana winds that rustle flame-adapted vegetation.
Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter battling the Mountain Fire watches flames from a firing operation burn off vegetation around Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The power of fire is evident. Palm trees turn to silhouettes against a raging orange wall. Firefighters push a vintage car through a haze of smoke. A woman clutches a scarf to her masked face as she leads her horse away from a burning hillside. Towering blazes strip homes to their foundations.
“It’s never a question of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ and ‘how big’ when it comes to wildfires in Southern California,” said Alex Hall, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Science. He called the impact on lives, livelihoods and ecosystems “truly devastating.”
A firefighter walks through smoke while battling the Mountain Fire, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The flames forgive little. Lucky residents escape with their lives and the few things that matter most. The unlucky lose the irreplaceable.
Often residents must return to sift through ash and rubble. Every now and then comes a surprising remnant — like a teapot with the word “blessed” in soot-covered cursive.
Tiffany Hobelman leads Koshan from an enclosure at Swanhill Farms as the Mountain Fire burns in Moorpark, Calif., Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Marvin Meador walks on the remains of his fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A tea cup sits with debris from a house destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A home destroyed by the Mountain Fire is reflected in a swimming pool in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A burned vehicle sits among a destroyed home in the Mountain Fire, Nov. 6, 2024, near Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters work against the Mountain Fire, Nov. 6, 2024, near Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Heidi Nardoni, right, and family friends search her home destroyed by the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Louie Gonzalez, foreground, and his mother, Kathy, background center, visit Kathy’s home devastated in the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Inmate firefighters battle the Mountain Fire at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames consume a home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Jaime Hernandez sprays water to defend his home while battling approaching flames from the Mountain Fire near Moorpark, Calif., Nov. 7, 2024. Hernandez has been staying behind to fight multiple wildfires since 1988. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter watches as flames from the Mountain Fire consume a home in Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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