Last November the Woolsey Fire ripped through Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unique coastal area comprised of federal and state parkland and a number of communities, including Malibu and Calabasas. By the time it was done, the fire had spread to nearly 100,000 of the park’s 150,000 acres, destroyed about 1,500 structures and killed 3 people.
The following March, I was assigned by the editors at National Parks Magazine to go out and document the progress in the park’s recovery, particularly in the wilderness areas, and to try to juxtapose that against the remaining visible damage. The story recently published in their Fall issue, which you can check out at npca.org.