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Having maintained a cabin in Washington State’s Methow Valley for over 20 years, Stephen Matera was deeply saddened upon witnessing two consecutive years of record-breaking wildfires in that area. He subsequently decided to use his experience as a photographer to not only document the devastation the fire caused but to recount the community’s recovery and rejuvenation efforts.
Fortunately, Stephen’s cabin was not burned in the fires, but many were not so lucky. In July of 2014, four separate fires caused by lightning strikes came together, creating what became known as the Carlton Complex Fire. The largest in Washington’s recorded history, the blaze destroyed more than 300 homes.
The very next year more lightning started multiples fires that eventually merged to create the Okanogan Complex Fire that burned over 300,000 acres, surpassing the Carleton complex to become the most destructive fire in Washington’s history. Over the next two years, Stephen traveled back and forth to the affected area, taking pictures of the land throughout all four seasons. Stephen began working closely with the Methow Conservancy, a local environmental advocacy group to learn more about the fires and how the local community has dealt with them.
Throughout the course of his work, Stephen began to realize that photographs alone were not going to be sufficient to tell the story he wanted, so he decided to create a film to be shown in conjunction with the images. In addition to aiding Stephen with his research of the area, the Methow Conservancy put him in touch with Fernne Rosenblatt, a landowner whose 450 acres of forestland and two houses burned in 2015.
Stephen spoke with Fernne at length, learning her story and relationship to the land. It turned out she had been coming to the area with her husband for years, and her cabin had become a cornerstone of her extended family’s ecological education.
Fernne’s husband had passed away shortly before the Carlton Complex Fire, and the memorial service occurred just ten days before the blaze. Since experiencing these deeply personal losses, Fernne has remained a staunch advocate for the land and even helped enact a conservation easement on over a large swath to prevent any commercial development and keep the area natural. Fernne has also helped with the fire cleanup efforts and plans to rebuild her cabin this spring.
Despite all the destruction, Stephen sees a silver lining to the fires. Forests have a way of regenerating on their own, but many of the areas used to fight the fire disturbed this natural process. With the help of the Methow Conservancy, the community planned a “seed mob:” an event where over 100 people gathered together to clear some of the burned brush and plant indigenous seeds in an effort to help restore the area.
Stephen felt heartened in seeing the community come together to care for the land.
The Methow Valley is a diverse mix of rural landowners, recreationalists, tourists, farmers, and ranchers. They don’t always have the same goals for the valley. But the fires have brought these disparate groups together towards a common goal of recovering and protecting the valley.
This series was primarily a passion project for Stephen. Being a full-time freelancer with two kids living four hours away in Seattle, Stephen didn’t have a lot of spare time for this project, but it was worth it to him. At this point, the Methow Conservancy is the end user for the project. However, like any good freelancer, Stephen sees the value in what he created. When all is said and done, he intends to pitch this project to conservation groups and magazines.
Check out Stephen’s companion film to the project below:
See more of Stephen at materaphoto.com!