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Local photographer Kat Harvey gets wildfire photo published in wilderness magazine

British Columbia Magazine published Harvey’s photo of the Flood Hope Falls Trail fire
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Harvey, who runs Into the Wild Boudoir and specializes in women portraiture — took the photo back in September when the fire was still a concern. (Kat Harvey)

A local photographer’s photo of the Flood Hope Falls Trail wildfire has landed her a spot in a prestigious wildlife magazine.

British Columbia Magazine published Kat Harvey’s photo, of the fire, in their 2022 winter edition. Harvey, who runs Into the Wild Boudoir and specializes in women portraiture — took the photo back in September when the fire was still a concern. A photographer since high school, Harvey says she’s found that the scenery surrounding Hope makes a good backdrop for wilderness empowerment photography.

“I’m a local photographer. And I used that trail a lot for a lot of my photos, in my sessions, because it’s such a beautiful part of Hope and it’s the most beautiful older growth forest,” says Harvey. “So when the fire started, I was definitely impacted by the potential loss of that trail. I started driving down just to keep an eye on what was happening. And I was down there that day when I took the photo and I noticed that, first of all, the color of the sky was incredible. And then you’ll see [in the] original photo, the tiny little helicopters dropping the buckets of water. Yeah, there’s four helicopters actually in that photo. But because we see the helicopters you can really see the absolute size of the fire the smoke and everything because they’re so tiny.

“And I just thought it was really incredible shot because it showed the magnitude of what was happening and the impact that potentially could have on our communities.”

The fire, which started on Sept.8, reached 545 hectares, eventually requiring five helicopters and 62 firefighters to fight the blaze. The growth of the fire, which was originally 65 hectares, prompted the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) and the District of Hope to jointly issue evacuation alerts, and then evacuation orders, for properties near the fire. The severity of the fire also prompted the closure of Highway 1 eastbound around that time.

Harvey says British Columbia Magazine, who she worked with before, reached out to her about putting her photo in their winter issue, after she posted it to her social media — which she was more than happy to do. It is her hope that it will continue to remind people why they should be careful about starting wildfires.

Most importantly, Harvey says she wants to thank all the firefighters and volunteers who worked hard to contain the fire.

“I would like to make note of my gratitude to all the volunteers and firefighters, for risking their own personal safety and health, to ensure that we were all safe. And for saving this beautiful trail…without their efforts, we would have lost a really beautiful piece of art for our community. So, definitely want to give thanks to them.”

READ MORE: Flood Falls Trail wildfire no longer out of control according to BC Wildfire Service


@KemoneMoodley
kemone.moodley@hopestandard.com

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Kemone Moodley

About the Author: Kemone Moodley

I began working with the Hope Standard on August 2022.
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