No, this post isn't about some new helicopter ride at Disneyland or Universal Studios. It has nothing to do with a theme park. It was, instead, a case of being present for a pretty spectacular event, AND being fortunate enough to have my SLR on me at the time.
I was on my way home from a visit to the beautiful El Matador beach in Malibu, where I had been shooting lots of waves, sea caves, and the like. About halfway home, driving up one of Malibu's many mountainous canyons, I noticed a column of smoke in the sky ahead. As I drove on, it got thicker and thicker. I realized it was almost directly in my path.
Sure enough, a couple miles ahead, there was the eruptings of chaos. Fire trucks, police cars, big smoke. A wildfire had broken out just off the road, and huge flames were shooting into the air. I pulled over onto the dirt and jumped out with my camera. Two air crews were battling the blaze, flying directly over me, dropping water, then returning to reload.
I was able to capture just a few shots before the authorities came in and forced the few of us who had gathered to evacuate. The wind was picking up, and we were pretty close to the fire. Just after this, they closed down the entire road through the canyon.
Nobody was hurt (save for a minor injury to one firefighter's leg from a falling rock) and no structures were destroyed. Congratulations, firefighters, on a job well done.
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