BOZEMAN — After witnessing the aftermath of the Bridger Foothills Fire firsthand, one local photographer, Jessica Hays, was inspired to create a book showing how destructive wildfires can be and the impact of climate change.
“The Earth was just completely blackened after the fire,” said Jessica Hays, as she showed a photo she took of the fire.
Hays is a lifelong Bozeman resident, teacher at Bozeman High School, and longtime photographer. “When I was majoring in photography, I really found my voice,” said Hays, who says growing up in Montana led to her interest in photographing nature.
“I think my interest in landscape and how it affects us and how we effect it is tied to my upbringing here in Bozeman, in a town that’s so connected to the mountains and the landscape,” she said. Hays says her interest in wildfire photography specifically came after seeing the devastation caused by the Bridger Foothills Fire.
“It was so different and so changed, I was like devastated and I remember just, like, crying in my car,” she said.
After the fire, Hays helped a family who lost their house recover their belongings.
“I remember each step I took, there’d be, like, a little poof of ash and it would release the smell of the fire.” said Hays.
WATCH: Photographer captures emotional toll of wildfires across the West
After witnessing the brutal destruction of the Bridger Foothills Fire, Jessica set out to photograph fires all over the West to show the “emotional and existential distress caused by negative environmental change.”
She also hopes to create “empathy and understanding for what it’s like live through these events in your home.”
Five years, and 50 fires later, Hays’ book is complete with 80 wildfire photographs and multiple short essays. For Hays, finishing the book in time for the five-year anniversary of the Bridger Foothills fire feels “like it was meant to be.”
To purchase Hays’ book and view her photographs, visit this link.
