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Malden a small farming town in eastern Washington was originally established as a railway station stop in 1909 On September 7 2020 a spark from a power line started the Babb Road Fire that destroyed approximately 80 percent of buildings in Malden and the nearby town of Pine City Among the buildings destroyed were the fire station post office city hall library and several houses The fire was fueled by dry brush timber and a 45 mph late summer windstorm The 293 residents were told to evacuate the area immediately and within hours most of the town had burned to the ground These photos are some of what remains of the town six months after the devastating wildfire Post Office on Main Street

Brick building on Pine City Malden Road Gas Pumps on Broadway Avenue

House remanents on Pine City Malden Road

ARTIST STATEMENT This collection of photos was much more than just an damaged buildings looking for anything recognizable assignment for a photography class It was an exploration I had two goals I wanted to achieve The first goal was of nature s fury visual destruction human tragedy and to convey a feeling of sadness loss and abandonment ultimately the resilience to start over again My second goal was to put a spotlight on the damaging The idea came to me during a Zoom meeting with my instructor A week or so before he had sent me a documentary about the photography of Tom Hido I found his work fascinating and wanted to explore more about liminal spaces That was the initial spark that led effects of climate change There is an attitude of it won t happen around here but it did and hopefully when people see a place so close to home that was burned to ground level it may begin the change the minds of even the most hardened skeptics me down a path of abandoned spaces and urban decay By using Hido s rainy windshield technique and doing After doing some internet exploring of ghost towns some creative color mapping I was happy with the result within driving distance I remembered the small town of For some of the remnants I had to step away from my Malden WA that had been almost completely destroyed vehicle and shoot close up I m still haunted by the little by a wildfire last summer I knew that photographing girl s bike completely intact except for the plastic seat the destruction left by the fire would make an that was burnt and melted from the heat of the fire It interesting subject for my final project Using Hido s showed the path this wildfire took destroying one work as inspiration I drove around the blackened and house and leaving the house right next door untouched