Jack Hattendorf steers his road grader back and forth across a dirt path cutting through blackened earth.
With each pass, he smooths and tamps down the soil to remake a dirt road that fire crews tore apart days earlier to stop flames that would become part of the largest wildfire on record in California.
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Jack Hattendorf steers his road grader back and forth across a dirt path cutting through blackened earth.
"Suppression repair" begins almost as soon as the fire moves through and the ground cools off — a massive but often overlooked part of firefighting.
They replace barbed-wire cattle fences, gates and crushed culverts; smooth out dirt roads torn apart by heavy equipment; flatten the berms created by bulldozers and put hiking trails back in shape.
One day late last week, 19 bulldozers, four road graders, six excavators and about a dozen water tenders were assigned to make repairs at the Mendocino Complex Fire, Meyers said.
Dawn Bodley didn't mind that bulldozers carved a containment line through her backyard. The fire swept through her property, but thanks to firefighters who stayed and fought, her home and garden were spared.
Even as flames chew through forestland nearby, Hattendorf and others are working to repair the damage caused not by flames but by firefighters trying to stop them. They seek to restore private lands, protect the environment and water supply, and prevent erosion that can lead to mudslides like the one that tour though a community outside Santa Barbara in January, killing nearly two dozen people.
This photo taken Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 near Lakeport, Calif. shows dirt paths created by bulldozers in an effort to contain part of the largest wildfire on record in California. Firefighters are battling the largest wildfire on record in California, while foresters and other experts are working to repair the damage. Crews are smoothing out dirt roads and replacing fences to mitigate the damage caused not by flames but by the firefighters racing to extinguish them. They seek to restore private lands, protect the environment and water supply, and prevent erosion.(AP PhotoJonathan J. Cooper)
"Suppression repair" begins almost as soon as the fire moves through and the ground cools off — a massive but often overlooked part of firefighting.
"We just follow behind when it's all done and controlled and fix everything that we can," said Tim Meyers, a forester for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who is overseeing suppression repair at the twin fires known as the Mendocino Complex.
Crews control wildland blazes by corralling them inside containment lines, built as quickly as possible by bulldozers and hand tools to clear flammable brush and slow or stop the spread of fire by eliminating its fuel. When the fire is extinguished in one area, a team with an array of heavy equipment goes in looking for things to repair.
This photo taken Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 near Lakeport, Calif. shows a dirt path and dusty berms left behind when a bulldozer passed through private land in an effort to contain part of the largest wildfire on record in California. Even as flames continue chewing through forestland nearby, crews are working to repair the damage wrought not by flames but by firefighters trying to stop them. (AP PhotoJonathan J. Cooper)
They replace barbed-wire cattle fences, gates and crushed culverts; smooth out dirt roads torn apart by heavy equipment; flatten the berms created by bulldozers and put hiking trails back in shape.
When necessary, they work with Native American tribes to repair damage to archaeological sites or clean the pink liquid that suppresses flames out of waterways.
If there's something they can't fix — say, a bulldozer plowed through an ornate gate outside someone's driveway — the property owner can file a claim for compensation.
In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 photo, Jack Hattendorf steers a road grader to repair a dirt path near Lakeport, Calif. Even as flames continue chewing through forestland nearby, Hattendorf and others are working to repair the damage wrought not by flames but by firefighters trying to stop them. (AP PhotoJonathan J. Cooper)
One day late last week, 19 bulldozers, four road graders, six excavators and about a dozen water tenders were assigned to make repairs at the Mendocino Complex Fire, Meyers said.
Suppression repair is mainly led by foresters and other Cal Fire officials with a background in managing natural resources. They also train seasonal and permanent firefighters, Meyers said, and get help from dozens of contractors operating heavy equipment.
"Some of it's not as glamorous as the firefighting, but it's just as needed," Meyers said.
This photo taken Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 near Lakeport, Calif. shows a dirt path left behind when a bulldozer toppled trees in an effort to contain part of the largest wildfire on record in California. Even as flames continue chewing through forestland not far from here, crews are working to repair the damage wrought not by flames but by firefighters trying to stop them. (AP PhotoJonathan J. Cooper)
Dawn Bodley didn't mind that bulldozers carved a containment line through her backyard. The fire swept through her property, but thanks to firefighters who stayed and fought, her home and garden were spared.
"I think those are special people," said Bodley, 62, who lives on a former ranch outside the city of Lakeport. "I don't know how they do it. They run into fire to protect other people's property, not even their own."
Not everyone is pleased with how the firefighters went about their work. One rancher said bulldozers tore apart grazing land and knocked over trees with no apparent strategy.
n this Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 photo, Dawn Bodley, 62, sits in her home near Lakeport, Calif. Fire swept through Bodley's property but firefighters saved her home. Firefighters are battling the largest wildfire on record in California, while foresters and other experts are working to repair the damage. (AP PhotoJonathan J. Cooper)
The rancher who refused to give his name because he didn't want to be identified criticizing firefighters said the repair crews have done good work, which he appreciates, but was irritated so much damage was done in the first place.
Full containment of the largest-ever California wildfire that's burning about 120 miles (264 kilometers) north of San Francisco still is weeks away, but suppression work is in full gear and could last months.
Among the most important tasks: building dirt humps across bulldozer scars to direct water away from the bare, dusty path. That prevents sediment from clouding streams and rivers, which is harmful to endangered fish. It also helps to control erosion — a serious concern after fire wipes out the vegetation that holds soils together.
The mudslides that buried parts of the wealthy community of Montecito in January were triggered by rainfall that came quickly after the fire and before suppression repairs were done. The work can't prevent that kind of erosion, Meyers said, but it might slow it down.
With California facing larger and more destructive wildfires because of heat and drought blamed on climate change, repair work is beginning earlier to ensure more manpower and equipment are available, he said.
Keith and Melissa Barnhart, who manage a mobile home park that firefighters used as a base, said they were impressed with how well the crews cleaned up. The main evidence of the effort is pink liquid dropped by planes to slow flames that coats the trailers and buildings.
"It's pink, but we're happy," Keith Barnhart said. "We'd rather see pink than black."
PARIS (AP) —
Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem captured this year’s prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award Thursday with a depiction of loss and sorrow in Gaza, a heartrending photo of a Palestinian woman cradling the body of her young niece. The photograph, taken in Khan Younis just days after Salem’s own child was born, shows 36-year-old Inas Abu Maamar holding five-year-old Saly, who was killed along with her mother and sister when an Israeli missile struck their home.
Salem, who is Palestinian, described this photo filed Nov. 2 last year, as a “powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip.”
The image ”truly encapsulates this sense of impact,” said global jury chair Fiona Shields, The Guardian newspaper's head of photography. “It is incredibly moving to view and at the same time an argument for peace, which is extremely powerful when peace can sometimes feel like an unlikely fantasy,” she added.
The World Press Photo jury praised the shot’s sense of care and respect and its offering of a “metaphorical and literal glimpse into unimaginable loss.”
This is not the first time Salem has been recognized for his work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; he received a World Press Photo award more than a decade ago for another depiction of the human toll of conflict in the Gaza strip.
In the three other global categories announced Thursday, South Africa’s Lee-Ann Olwage won Photo Story of the Year for her touching series “Valim-babena,” featured in GEO magazine. The project focused on the stigmatization of dementia in Madagascar, a topic she explored through intimate portraits of “Dada Paul” and his family. Lack of public awareness surrounding dementia means that people displaying symptoms of memory loss are often stigmatized.
In the series, “Dada Paul,” who has lived with dementia for 11 years, is tenderly cared for by his daughter Fara. One of the standout images in the series shows him preparing for church with his granddaughter Odliatemix, capturing moments of normalcy and warmth amidst the challenges of dementia.
Photographer Alejandro Cegarra, a Venezuelan native who migrated to Mexico in 2017, won the Long-Term Project award for “The Two Walls,” published by The New York Times and Bloomberg. Cegarra’s project, initiated in 2018, examines a shift in Mexico’s immigration policies, which have moved from being historically open to enforcing strict regulations at its southern border. The jury said the photographer's perspective as a migrant gave it a “sensitive," human-centered perspective, according to a press release.
Julia Kochetova of Ukraine won the Open Format award for “War Is Personal.” The project stood out from coverage of the ongoing conflict by offering a personal look at the harsh realities of war. On a dedicated website, she merged traditional photojournalism with a diary-like documentary style, incorporating photography, poetry, audio clips and music.
The Associated Press won the Open Format award in the regional Africa category with the multimedia story “Adrift,” created by journalists Renata Brito and Felipe Dana. The story investigates the fate of West African migrants who attempted to reach Europe via a treacherous Atlantic route but ended up on a ghost ship discovered off Tobago. The team’s compelling use of photography, cinematography and detailed narrative, enhanced by expert design and multimedia elements, highlights the perils faced by migrants and the human stories behind global migration issues.
The Associated Press' Ebrahim Noroozi won the Asia Stories award for his series “Afghanistan on the Edge,” which documents the country since the Taliban took over in August 2021.
World Press Photo is an independent, nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, founded in 1955.
This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a series titled Afghanistan on the Edge by Ebrahim Noroozi, Associated Press, which won the World Press Photo Asia Series category and showsAn Afghan refugee rests in the desert next to a camp near the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. A huge number of Afghans refugees entered the Torkham border to return home hours before the expiration of a Pakistani government deadline for those who are in the country illegally to leave or face deportation. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a series titled Afghanistan on the Edge by Ebrahim Noroozi, Associated Press, which won the World Press Photo Asia Series category and shows : Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. Three Afghan internally displaced children look with surprise at an apple that their mother brought home after begging, in a camp on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Feb 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a multimedia project by Associated Press' Renata Brito and Felipe Dana titled Adrift, won the World Press Photo Africa Regional Winner Open Format category and shows a mortuary technician opening the door of a refrigerator used to store the remains of migrants recovered from inside the Mauritania boat that appeared drifting near the island of Tobago, in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. In May 2021 a boat from Mauritania full of dead men was found off the coast of the Caribbean Island of Tobago. Who were these men and why were they on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean? Two visual journalists sought answers, uncovering a story about migrants from West Africa who seek opportunity in Europe via an increasingly popular but treacherous Atlantic route. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a multimedia project by Associated Press' Renata Brito and Felipe Dana titled Adrift, won the World Press Photo Africa Regional Winner Open Format category and shows young fishermen walk into the ocean to board an artisanal fishing boat in Nouakchott, Mauritania, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. In May 2021 a boat from Mauritania full of dead men was found off the coast of the Caribbean Island of Tobago. Who were these men and why were they on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean? Two visual journalists sought answers, uncovering a story about migrants from West Africa who seek opportunity in Europe via an increasingly popular but treacherous Atlantic route. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a multimedia project by Associated Press' Renata Brito and Felipe Dana titled Adrift, won the World Press Photo Africa Regional Winner Open Format category and shows Moussa Sako, an asylum-seeker from Mali, who survived 22 days aboard a Mauritanian boat drifting in the Atlantic Ocean covers his face during an interview with the Associated Press in Guadalajara, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. In May 2021 a boat from Mauritania full of dead men was found off the coast of the Caribbean Island of Tobago. Who were these men and why were they on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean? Two visual journalists sought answers, uncovering a story about migrants from West Africa who seek opportunity in Europe via an increasingly popular but treacherous Atlantic route. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Julia Kochetova is part of a series titled War is Personal which won the World Press Photo Open Format Award. Amidst tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia's war in Ukraine. While news media updates its audience with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer has created a personal website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality. (Julia Kochetova/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Julia Kochetova is part of a series titled War is Personal which won the World Press Photo Open Format Award and shows a stabilization point near Bakhmut, Ukraine, of the 5th assault brigade and 77th brigade. Hospitalliers battalion - volunteer battalion of combat medics are helping here. Amidst tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia's war in Ukraine. While news media updates its audience with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer has created a personal website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality. (Julia Kochetova/Der Spiegel/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Julia Kochetova is part of a series titled War is Personal which won the World Press Photo Open Format Award and shows the training of mobilized conscripts of 68th brigade in Donetsk region, not far from frontline. 68th brigade recently liberated Blagodatne village during the Ukrainian counter-offensive. The instructors came from US, working for NGO "Saber".Amidst tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia's war in Ukraine. While news media updates its audience with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer has created a personal website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality. (Julia Kochetova/Der Spiegel/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Alejandro Cegarra for The New Times/Bloomberg is part of a series titled The Two Walls which won the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award and shows Carlos Mendoza, a Venezuelan migrant, crossing the Rio Grande river to seek asylum in the United States. Piedras Negras, Mexico, 7 October 2023. (Alejandro Cegarra/The New York Times/Bloomberg/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Alejandro Cegarra for The New Times/Bloomberg is part of a series titled The Two Walls which won the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award and shows a migrant walking atop a freight train known as "The Beast." Migrants and asylum seekers lacking the financial resources to pay a smuggler often resort to using cargo trains to reach the United States border. This mode of transportation is very dangerous; over the years, hundreds have fallen onto the tracks and have been killed or maimed. Piedras Negras, Mexico, 8 October 2023. (Alejandro Cegarra/The New York Times/Bloomberg/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO is part of a series titled Valim-babena which won the World Press Photo Story of the Year Award and shows Dada Paul Rakotazandriny (91), who is living with dementia, and his granddaughter, Odliatemix Rafaraniriana (5), get ready for church on Sunday morning at his home in Antananarivo, Madagascar. 12 March 2023. (Lee-Ann Olwage/Geo/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO is part of a series titled Valim-babena which won the World Press Photo Story of the Year Award and shows Joeline (Fara) Rafaraniriana (41) watches her father, Dada Paul Rakotazandriny (91) clean fish at home on Sunday afternoon. A typical Sunday consists of the family attending church in the morning and spending time together in the afternoon. Fara works during the week and as the sole provider and carer for her daughter and father struggles to manage all her responsibilities in the absence of assistance by her siblings who live close by. Mandrosoa Ivato, Antananarivo, Madagascar. 12 March 2023. (Lee-Ann Olwage/Geo/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Mohammed Salem of the Reuters news agency won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embracing the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters/World Press Photo via AP)
