As the Kincade fire rages in Sonoma County, The Press Democrat photographers John Burgess, Christopher Chung, Alvin Jornada, Kent Porter and Beth Schlanker work overtime to document the destruction and the courageous efforts to contain the conflagration. In one moment, just behind the fire line, they capture the dreadful, yet insidiously haunting flames and the firefighters’ valiant efforts to protect us from them — in another, they turn their lenses to the flight of the evacuees. More intimate scenes show sheltered people and animals, and prepared community members. Finally, there are glimpses of hope — a neighborhood saved, a thankful smile, warm embraces and words of encouragement between family, friends and strangers. Click through the gallery to see some of the images.
The Kincade Fire in 50 Photos
The Press Democrat's photographers capture the destruction, the courageous fight against the flames, the flight of evacuees and the plight of the community.
Flames from the Kincade fire surround a grove of oak trees along Geysers Road in Geyserville, California, on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Flames from the Kincade fire move through trees along Geysers Road in Geyserville, California, on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Geyserville fire chief Marshall Turbeville, left, pauses to talk with another firefighter along Geysers Road, as advancing flames from the Kincade fire push firefighters back down the road, in Geyserville, California, on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
An ember wash, pushed by high winds during the Kincade fire in the Geysers, spreads over the landscape on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Sonoma County. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire burns in the hills above Geysers Road, near Geyserville, California, on Thursday, October 24, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Local firefighters set a back fire along Geysers Road to defend against the Kincade fire, in Geyserville, California, on Thursday, October 24, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Photographers document the Kincade fire in the Geysers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Sonoma County. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire swirls over Geysers Road, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire swirls over Geysers Road, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Extreme flame lengths chew through dry brush and timber on the west side of Black Mountain, above the Alexander Valley during the Kincade fire in the Geysers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Sonoma County. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
First responders evacuate out ahead of the Kincade fire as it pushes down Geysers Road, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighters prepare to defend their ground as the Kincade fire marches down Black Mountain toward Hawkeye Ranch in the Geysers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Sonoma County. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A home burns off Red Winery Road. The fire was caused by the Kincade fire that started in the Geysers and rolled on to the Alexander Valley floor, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A home burns off Geysers Road. The fire was caused by the Kincade fire that started in the Geysers and rolled on to the Alexander Valley floor, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Zac Lewis of the Cloverdale Fire Department keeps tabs on a home that is not burning off Geysers Road as another one is engulfed in flames, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Zac Lewis, left, and Luke Bernardini of the Cloverdale Fire Department keep tabs on a home burning as they protect another structure off Geysers Road, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A garage burns off Red Winery Road. The fire was caused by the Kincade fire that started in the Geysers and rolled on to the Alexander Valley floor, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Vyborny residence along Highway 128 is reduced to rubble by the Kincade fire in Geyserville on Thursday, October 24, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
A tanker drops retardant on the hillside near Pine Flat and Red Winery roads to combat the Kincade fire in Geyserville on Thursday, October 24, 2019. (Beth Schlanker/ The Press Democrat)
From right, Oakmont resident Lorna Deitz hugs neighbor Cindy Black while Judy Walter looks on. The three met outside their home to share cookies and discuss their power outage. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Longtime Geyserville resident Melinda Barnard, right, embraces Jim Young, whose family owns Robert Young Estate Winery, upon seeing each other for the first time since the Kincade fire erupted, as the wildfire continues to burn in the hills above Geyserville, California, on Friday, October 25, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Justin Miller, owner of Garden Creek Vineyards, stands beside rows of petit verdot grape vines, as the Kincade fire continues to burn in the hills above Geyserville, California, on Friday, October 25, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Headlights illuminate a vineyard in the Alexander Valley as the the Kincade fire burns in the Mayacamas Mountains, Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2019
Thick smoke from the Kincade fire obscures the setting sun as seen from the Middletown side of the Mayacamas Mountains, Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Traffic backs up on Highway 101 at Shiloh Road in Windsor as residents follow evacuation orders for the Kincade fire on Saturday, October 26, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
CHP officer Matt Bellerive, right, informs 13th Hole Drive resident John Cavanaugh about the mandatory evacuation due to the Kincade fire, in Windsor on Saturday, October 26, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Remington, 4, and Lauren Irwin pack up their home in Healdsburg after officials ordered the evacuation of the town Saturday morning, October 26, 2019. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Jennifer Crandall packs up the sign she used when she first became a dentist in anticipation of heavy winds pushing the Kincade fire toward Headsburg on Saturday, October 26, 2019. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Anna Vandemeer evacuated her northern Santa Rosa home to the Red Cross shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Sunday, October 27. Vandemeer also evacuated during the 2017 Tubbs fire. But the most traumatic event in her life was when she was forced from her home in the Netherlands in 1944 during WWII. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Red Cross volunteer Barbara Wood gives a hug to a Kincade fire evacuee who seemed in distress at the Red Cross Shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Bernadette Yabadi and her son Victor evacuated their Santa Rosa home to the Red Cross shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds after officials expanded evacuation orders Sunday morning as heavy winds pushed the Kincade fire to the south. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Carlos and Lenor Moran evacuated their Guerneville home with their dogs Bear and Toby on Sunday morning. They found they could stay with their pets at the Red Cross shelter in Finley Hall at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Tammy H., a Windsor resident and Kincade fire evacuee, becomes emotional as she stands in the Walmart parking lot in Rohnert Park on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire blew through Pine Flat, decimating the forest that was making a comeback after the Geysers fire in 2004, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. At lower right is the second Geysers effluent pump station. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire blew through Pine Flat, decimating the forest that was making a comeback after the Geysers fire in 2004, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighters relax at the top of Pine Flat Road as the Kincade fire lays down with calm winds, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire creeps down toward Briggs Ranch Road, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire creeps down toward Briggs Ranch Road, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighter Rick Blakemore protects a structure along Highway 128, south of Pine Flat Road, northeast of Healdsburg, on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Trees on a hillside at Verity Winery are encircled in flames and ignite, along Chalk Hill Road, east of Windsor on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Soda Rock Winery burns to the ground as the Kincade fire jumps Highway 128 in the Alexander Valley, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Soda Rock Winery burns to the ground as the Kincade fire jumps Highway 128 in the Alexander Valley, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire reaches the Foothill Oaks Estates in Windsor, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire reaches the Foothill Oaks Estates in Windsor, creating spot fires in vegetation around homes on Buena Tierra Court, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. Firefighters extinguished the flames before they spread to surrounding homes. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Kincade fire reaches the Foothill Oaks Estates in Windsor, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Mike Burke of the Burbank Fire Department shows the face of fatigue after the Kincade fire rolled into the Foothill Oaks Estates in Windsor, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
San Rafael firefighter Bob de Lambert wipes away a tear as he watches a home he helped build in the 1980s burn on Old Barn Rd. Photo taken during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
A firefighter works to put out fire in a palm tree on Vinecrest Circle as the Kincade fire burns in Windsor on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Beth Schlanker/ The Press Democrat)
Vintage cars sit on the grass of a small park on Buena Tierra Way as the Kincade fire burns nearby in Windsor on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
A Cal Fire firefighter jumps a drainage ditch in the backyard of a home on Encinosa Ct as he works to contain the Kincade fire in Windsor on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
A Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane drops water on the Kincade fire near Old Barn Rd in Healdsburg on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
A Sonoma County Fire District engine crew drives along River Ranch Road during the Kincade Fire near Windsor, California, on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Woodbridge Fire Department firefighter Joe Zurilgen walks past a fire engulfed home along Highway 128, just north of Chalk Hill Road, in the Alexander Valley during the Kincade fire on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Downey firefighters concentrate on wetting down a house adjacent to a burning barn, Sunday Oct. 27, 2019 as the Kincade fire pushed down to Shiloh Ridge and Faught Road east of Windsor. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
An ember cast rains down on a house adjacent to a burning barn, Sunday Oct. 27, 2019 as the Kincade fire pushed down to Shiloh Ridge and Faught Road east of Windsor. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Cal Fire firefighters, part of a strike team from Butte County, prepare to cut line around the Kincade fire on Ida Clayton Road, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighters from Cal Fire, part of a strike team from Butte County, cut line around the Kincade fire off Ida Clayton Road near the Lake/Sonoma County line, Monday, Oct. 28. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighters from Cal Fire, part of a strike team from Butte County, prepare to cut line around the Kincade fire off Ida Clayton Road near the Lake/Sonoma County line, Monday, Oct. 28. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Firefighters from Cal Fire, part of a strike team from Butte County, cut line around the Kincade fire off Ida Clayton Road near the Lake/Sonoma County line, Monday, Oct. 28. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A Blackhawk helicopter drops water on the Kincade fire Thursday, Oct. 28, 2019 off Ida Clayton Road - Mt St. Helena is in the background. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A burned bridge on a Shiloh Valley Ct property during the Kincade fire in Windsor on Monday, October 28, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
The charred remains of the home at 445 Shiloh Valley Ct after it burned during the Kincade fire. Photo taken in Windsor on Monday, October 28, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Eldorado Hotshots out of Camino take a break from cutting fire breaks on Kincade fire, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019 near the Sonoma/Lake County line. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
A chimney remains from a home that burned on Briggs Ranch Rd during the Kincade fire near Calistoga on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
A meteor streaks across the sky as gusty winds create an ember cast on a valley oak tree burned by the Kincade fire, early Wednesday morning in Knights Valley east of Healdsburg, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)