11/17/2018
Devastating to see everything in this state and despite the immense damages, the park still remains beautiful. It will take a long time for the vegetation to return they way it was. Many of the areas I walked to take these shots were completely inaccessible before the fires. I hiked from Agoura Road/ 101 freeway over the mountains, down into Malibu Creek State and up to Malibou Lake because they were blocking the roads from all residents. Older neighbors were trying to get food to their animals and the police were making them walk long distances because they wouldn't let anyone drive in or out. Needless to say that created a lot of drama and tension. They lied and said there was a new fire on Cornell road. That's when I started hiking and as you can see, there was no active fires on Conrell. It seems like there was a lot of confusion in how the police and firefighters handled the aftermath, to say the least. The second day I was there I ran into a State Park Volunteer who informed me the park is now officially closed to the public.
So sad to see so many of my friends houses which we all grew up in completely evaporated. Many did not have enough time to get any of their belongings out. Some were out of town and literally lost everything. Some locals decided to stay and fight and some stayed and fought because they were literally trapped in the area by a firestorm that they couldn't drive through. I heard one neighbor tried to drive out down mullholland and had to pull over and wait it out while his tires on his car melted. There is still no electricity or gas in the area. It's beautiful to see the neighborhood coming together and helping each other out.I only photographed a fraction of the areas where structures burned down in the area. If I photographed any of your properties and you want higher resolution files of these please let me know. Sending love to everyone who lost everything they had
