Aliso Viejo Fire 6.5.09

On my drive home the other day I stumbled upon a cluster of traffic in the road. As I approached the area closer I quickly realized that there was a giant cloud of smoke in the air and a pretty sizable fire across from my home. (Eeek!) I was speechless and startled, I had never really witnessed something like that up close and personal. WOW! It was frightening and very-very hot to say the least. I quickly ran into the house to grab my camera and headed over to the scene. I was able to snap quite a few shots of the fire and the surrounding area.

It was so inspiring to see the fire crew do their job and fight the fire. I felt so grateful that we have so many men and woman who choose to do this as their job. It’s amazing how many lives they much touch on a daily basis.

To my surprise, I received a very kind email message from a firefighter from the OCFA in Orange County. He had ran across the images online that I had taken somehow and contacted me to thank me for documenting the incident so well and that he was enjoying being able to share the photographs with his family and the rest of his crew. He wanted to know if he could use some of the images there at the station. I was so taken back that HE liked MY photos, it was one of the biggest compliments I have ever received. I was so excited and felt so honored at the same time!

Here are some of the photographs from that afternoon and if you’d like you can see more on my Flickr page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krissygimenez/sets/72157619307563938/show/

So to any and all firefighters out there, I thank you for all of your brave work that you do for us. Especially the crew over at OCFA!
Krissy