SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Lindsey Wasson is based in Seattle and has worked for The Associated Press as a staff photographer since 2023. She has covered two Olympics and a World Cup for the AP, along with news and enterprise in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, including the aftermath of the Maui wildfires.
Here’s what she had to say about this extraordinary photo taken in Spokane.
Why this photo?
Washington is in the middle of a historic wildfire season, and the Old Trails Fire in northwest Spokane, the second-largest city in the state, ripped through several neighborhoods and destroyed hundreds of structures on Aug. 1. I was dispatched to drive across the state the next day to start making photos on Aug. 3 as people returned.
How I made this photo
Access is often a difficulty following disasters, and knowing police roadblocks can be put up or extended at any time, I made an early start at an affected neighborhood our Spokane freelancer, Young Kwak, had found the previous day. Despite the Level 3 evacuation order, only power company employees were manning the entrances to the closed roads at this spot, so I was able to come in on foot.
After wandering the area for about an hour and a half, documenting the destruction, I came upon Miriam and Daniel Sim talking with a neighbor at the edge of the burned zone. They were just returning and were debating whether they wanted to walk through the neighborhood to see their home…