Kasimira Photography
Kasimira Photography
The deadly Tubbs Fire that devastated Santa Rosa, CA in November 2017, was one of the worst in California history. It destroyed nearly 7,000 structures, affected more than 110,000 acres and took lives of at least 19 people. I took my camera on a tragic journey to Santa Rosa couple weeks later, and that’s how this photojournalism project was born.
A mere two hour drive from Silicon Valley, where many believe our future is being invented, something as primitive as fire serves as a reminder that we are not in charge, not really.
Standing among the ruins, I wanted to remind people of a simple, brute fact - the events that ultimately shape our lives are almost never what we concern ourselves with in our daily lives. Fire is the great equalizer - fire does not care about your net worth, your fame, your race, your religion, your gender or your sexual orientation. All these things that we define ourselves and each other by, and fight over mean nothing at all to forces of nature.
The effects of human industrialization have created the conditions for our own destruction, and a realistic vision of the future sees climate refugees from California and Kiribati.
We will see past our petty differences or perish, that’s the thought that kept going through my mind as I walked among homes and shopping centers, ashes and molten steel. Trying to imagine what it must be like to lose everything to what seemed like random events, and realizing with a sinking heart that this is the common fate for all of us if we keep our heads buried in mindless consumption and celebrity culture.
It’s all too easy to tune out the inconvenient truths in our lives, until it comes knocking on your door when you least expect it. It is my hope that by sharing these photos, I can do my tiny part in reminding people that we all share a common fate when it comes to our living planet.