"Park Fire '24" - Noah Berger
Northern California, July-September 2024
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In recent decades, California has experienced increasingly frequent and severe wildfires, fueled by a combination of hotter, drier conditions, forest mismanagement, and expanding development into high-risk areas. These fires have caused large-scale ecological damage, destroyed wildlife habitats, displaced entire communities, and resulted in billions of dollars in property loss and firefighting costs.
The Park Fire started on July 24, 2024 outside of Chico, California as an an act of arson. It spread quickly into the Ishi Wilderness and Lassen National Forest, leading to evacuations in foothill communities and the destruction of hundreds of structures. The fire burned for over 2 months, altogether claiming 429,603 acres before being contained at a suppression cost of $351 million. It was the 4th largest wildfire in California state history and the largest ever caused by arson.
In the first days of the Park Fire, renowned AP freelancer Noah Berger moved between multiple points in the burn zone, documenting the unfolding disaster. His images showed firefighters working in intense heat and heavy smoke, residents evacuating with little time to prepare, and the immediate destruction left in the fire’s path. Widely published by national and international outlets, Berger’s coverage became one of the most comprehensive visual records of the fire’s rapid spread and the urgent response it demanded.
About Noah Berger
Noah Berger is a San Francisco Bay Area–based freelance photographer who has covered California news and events for more than two decades. Since the 2013 Rim Fire, Berger has become widely recognized for his wildfire coverage, documenting nearly every major California blaze of the past decade, including the Camp Fire, Carr Fire, and North Bay Complex. His images—often captured in dangerous, rapidly changing conditions—depict both the scale of the disasters and the human impact on affected communities.
In addition to wildfire work, Berger’s news photography has received significant national recognition. Along with Associated Press colleagues, he was part of the team awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for coverage of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. He was also a Pulitzer finalist in 2019 for images from California’s deadliest wildfire season, and his photo “Battling the Marsh Fire” earned second prize in the Environment category of the 2020 World Press Photo contest. Berger’s photographs are regularly published by national and international outlets and continue to be a significant visual record of some of the most urgent news events in recent U.S. history.
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