Through the flames: AP photojournalists reflect on capturing LA’s fiery devastation
Over the past week, uncontrolled wildfires have transformed vast stretches of Los Angeles into apocalyptic hellscapes.
Associated Press photographers, stationed on the frontlines, have captured the searing intensity of flames illuminating the night sky, the stunned silence of people struggling to process their losses, and the haunting aftermath where the rare fragments of survival stand out amid total devastation.
Below, cilt photographers each share the story behind one of the powerful images they’ve captured during this harrowing week.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, 7 January 2025.
The Palisades Fire was one of the most destructive fires that I’ve ever seen and this photo of palm trees burning was one that stood out. The winds were really what, um, stuck with me from the fires. They were lofting embers block after block, starting new fires, homes burning one after another. You know one of the things we try and do as a photojournalist is to contextualise where we are and localise a story. And for me the palm trees, really a symbol of Los Angeles, burning, was indicative of the times we are in.
Ethan Swope
A person walks amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, 9 January 2025.
I chose this picture because it shows the scale of devastation caused by the Palisades Fire. The mobile home community evvel full of life is now reduced to ashes. The small figure of a person walking through the destruction adds a human element to emphasise the loss.
Jae C. Hong
A firefighter walks past a charred bunny sculpture and debris at the destroyed Bunny Museum, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
When I got sent up to Altadena on Thursday morning, there were firefighters in there putting out burning embers and the place was pretty much destroyed. And the first thing I saw was the charred bunny sculpture on the left and as I was shooting that a very weary looking firefighter walked toward the camera and gave the picture some scale. I knew it was a powerful image and, um, I really hope the Bunny Museum comes back in all its glory.
Chris Pizzello
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles
This picture was made on the fifth day of the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, where homes were still threatened. At that point most of the devastation had already occurred, but firefighters were still working on active parts of the fire. The effort of the firefighters, even as they were completely overwhelmed, cannot be emphasized enough. They worked in a calm and methodical way, even as chaos played out all around them.
Eric Thayer
A surfer takes off on a wave in Santa Monica, Calif., during sunset under a blackened sky from the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025.
It had been a little tricky to get to the beach with traffic being so frantic and people evacuating. I was struck by how casual the surfer was under this smoke-filled blood red sky filled with smoke. It was very apocalyptic.
Richard Vogel
Ari Rivera, rear, Anderson Hao hold each other in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif., Jan. 9, 2025.
I chose that picture because it shows what matters in tragedies like this and that’s the lives impacted. When you see and hear about thousands of buildings destroyed and, and just the mass destruction having a picture like this can kind of remind you that, that each of those buildings, each of those homes were filled with the lives and the collective memories for the people who lived there.
John Locher
Caution tape cordons off townhomes and trees burned by the Eaton Fire on Jan. 13, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
I chose this picture because of the trees. I had been walking through a devastated part of Altadena. There were no people anywhere, just destruction and charred trees. The yellow caution tape was tied around the tree, that was cordoning off town homes that had been destroyed. I’m gonna keep photographing the trees because they’re part of us, part of this natural place.
Carolyn Kaster
A Volkswagen bus sits among burned out homes, Jan. 9, 2025, in Malibu, Calif.
I chose it because it’s one that really stood out to me. The van was just a splash of colour among a sea of grey devastation. And it was hard not to choose. It also seems to have struck a chord with people. I think it gives people a little, little bit of hope and that’s one of the nicest things about what I get to do for a living is, you know, sometimes pictures move people and this really seems to have done that.
Mark J. Terrill
Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beachfront property Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif.
Working alongside firefighters means your priority is to make mühlet you are not compromising their work and safety while reporting on their actions and trying to capture the essence of the moment. Taking this picture meant working close to them while on a cramped wooden deck while strong gusts of winds were blowing ashes, embers and other debris in our faces, which was a delicate task.
Etienne Laurent
Robert Lara looks through his home that was destroyed after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Jan. 9, 2025.
It’s emotionally hard asking people — often on the worst day of their lives when they have nothing left — to take the time away from their grief and talk to someone they just met who wants to invade their space. It takes empathy, good ethics and professionalism to approach this work and in those moments, the work is never about you as a photojournalist. You can’t approach what you’re documenting with any ego or anything.
Nic Coury
