I Filmed An Inferno

What was to become the Freeway Complex and later the Triangle Complex Fire began Saturday morning, November 15, just off the 91 Freeway near Green River in the Corona area. High winds rapidly pushed the fire out of Corona and into bordering Orange County in a matter of minutes. Resources from multiple fire departments were dispatched at once.

I had been listening to fire radio frequencies that morning near my home in Southeast Los Angeles County, about 15 miles away. There was a devastating fire burning in Northern L.A. City that had started the previous evening. That fire had drained most of the region’s resources, which would play a part in the devastation that was to come in Orange County later that day.

In the middle of my listening to fire operations in Los Angeles, I became aware of the radio chatter about the new fire. The intensity of what I was hearing grew quickly. It became apparent that this new fire was growing rapidly, and bearing down on inhabited areas. I looked to the east and could see a rapidly budding smoke column.

I headed east on the 91 freeway through Buena Park and could see there were two separate fires in the area. In addition to the fire off Green River, another one had broken out in Brea and it too looked quite menacing. I buddied up with a fellow shooter in the Brea area and we both decided to head to Anaheim Hills/Yorba Linda based on the size of the smoke column and the frantic radio traffic we were hearing about structures burning.

As we came into the area, a wall of traffic met us. “Looky-loos” had merged with people fleeing the area and gridlock along the major thoroughfares was the result.