Haunting images of cars caught in the California wildfires

Beauty born of tragedy

In August, wildfires once again ravaged California, reviving painful memories for victims of the devastation that hit the region a year ago, when 44 were killed and more than 100,000 people were forced from their homes.

There were automotive victims, too, and Oakland Hills resident Russell Hyzen saw the beauty in the twisted, burnished metal that remained, and realised that they could hold the key to supporting the people hit hardest by the fires.

With his Art Out Of Ashes project, Hyzen and photographer Scott Maddern set out to capture the automotive remains left lying around Sonoma County and use these fabulous images to raise money for victims of the fires.

1973-1980 Chevrolet C/K pick-up

Pick-ups feature strongly among the images, none more memorable than this incredible shot of a Chevy Flareside truck whose bonnet and alloy wheels have melted and buckled in the heat of the fires.

The project was inspired by Richard Misrach’s images of the 1991 Oakland Hills fires, and the not-for-profit ArtOutOfAshes.org will raise money for the victims through sales of limited-edition prints and a beautiful hardback photobook containing 39 of Maddern’s images.

1934 Ford Five Window Coupe

Although the subjects range from 1920s cars right up to the modern-day Toyota Prius, it’s vehicles such as this 1934 Ford Five Window Coupe that are the most fascinating to pore over.

Clearly once someone’s pride and joy, the Ford sits in the remains of its garage with the intense heat of the wildfires clear to see: its wheels have been completely destroyed, and the rocker box atop the engine has melted away, revealing the inner workings of the motor.

1928 Chevrolet truck

Ably assisted by Russell Hyzen, photographer Scott Maddern blended the expertise he has gained in both studio and landscape photography to capture more than 100 vehicles in the Santa Rosa area over a six-day period.

This 1928 Chevrolet truck looks like the perfect basis for a ‘rat rod’, with its metalwork wearing a perfect layer of corrosion, yet look closely and you’ll spot the molten tyres and the missing timberwork, signals of its brush with the advancing wildfires.

Morris Minor 1000

The wildfires that swept California in 2017 caused more than $3billion in damage, and that is easy to believe when you see the devastation in images such as this one of a misshapen Morris Minor saloon, its once-curvy shape all but flattened as it sinks into the surrounding ash.

Even before this example was removed from their number, the little Morris was a relatively rare sight in the USA, despite its ubiquity on British roads, with fewer than 60,000 exported over its entire production run.

1937 Chevrolet Coupe

The thick ash piled up around this 1937 Chevrolet Coupe is all that remains of the building that once housed it, and the sorry state of the car today must be a source of great distress to its enthusiast owner.

Yet with the sun setting behind, photographer Maddern has managed to capture an eerie beauty in this image, with the red skies hinting at the wildfires that wrought such devastation on the landscape.

1950 Chevrolet Panel Truck

Chevrolets dominate our selection, a reflection of the popularity of General Motors’ best-selling brand.

Look beyond the bubbling layers of paint and the burnt-away tyres and this 1950 Chevrolet Panel Truck appears to have once been a tidy example, which is perhaps why it’s now being protected by a carport. Could this super-cool commercial be in line for restoration?

1956 Continental Mark II

The Continental Mark II was the most expensive car in America when it was new, and today an example in mint condition is worth in excess of $100,000, which makes the loss of this rather magnificent 1956 car even more tragic.

Powered by a 6-litre V8 and marketed as a ‘personal luxury car’, the Continental was a distinct product from the Lincoln whose mechanicals it shared, and was Ford’s flagship. Bearing in mind its rarity, it would be great if this magnificent machine could be saved.

1956-1965 Jeep Forward Control

Just as the Land-Rover came as a utilitarian ‘Forward Control’ version, giving additional load space by positioning the cab over the drivetrain, so was the car that inspired it, the Willys Jeep.

Used as a basis for everything from pick-ups to fire engines, these modern-looking go-anywhere vehicles were styled by Brooks Stevens but sold in relatively small numbers, with just 30,000 finding homes over a nine-year production run.

1963-1970 Volvo 1800S

Although American cars are – unsurprisingly – the main focus of the book, there are also a few rare European models whose motor houses were caught up in the wildfires.

This lovely Volvo 1800S, successor to the original ‘cowhorn bumper’ P1800, is sadly beyond salvation with its warped panels and melted front grille. Made famous as the steed of Roger Moore in The Saint, the 1800 must rank as the best-looking Volvo of all time.

1958 Chevrolet Apache pick-up

Part of Chevrolet’s ‘Task Force’ series, the handsome Chevrolet Apache has become an icon of 1950s American design. This pick-up appears to have suffered less damage in the fires than many of the cars, with patches of its original paint still visible around the nose, though sadly the interior is a total loss.

The framing and composition of this shot are testament to photographer Scott Maddern’s skills – it’s incredible to think that he didn’t pick up his first DSLR camera until 2009, though he quickly developed an expertise in studio and landscape photography.

1962 Chevrolet Impala

Launched in 1958, the Chevrolet Impala has at times in its life been America’s best-selling car, in the days before the Japanese came to dominate the US market.

This 1962 example is a desirable convertible, and looks to have been unlucky enough to have been right at the edge of the line of fire: the rear end escaped almost completely unscathed, and its tyres even still hold air, but the front end is a complete write-off.

1954 Willys M38A1 Jeep

The Jeep was tough enough to do battle in some of the world’s toughest conflicts, yet even this famously rugged machine could do nothing against the might of the wildfires.

A 1954 Willys M38A1, the Jeep sits alongside the buckled remains of its owner’s double-cab pick-up in the ashes of the workshop that was once their home, where you can also pick out various tools such as a compressor.

1970 Cadillac

When the fires and smoke eventually cleared, they revealed a cemetery of a wide range of vehicles across the Sonoma Valley. This haunting image of a 1970 Cadillac – we’d love to be more specific about the model, but there is so little left that it’s hard to identify – reveals how hollow owners must have felt upon returning to what was left of their homes and garages.

“These vehicles represent the loss felt by all those affected by the fires,” says Hyzen. “Each one shows how each individual’s losses are different. We’ve captured the souls of these vehicles.”

1965-1966 Volkswagen Beetle

Is there anything more forlorn than a down-at-heel Volkswagen Bug? This poor little mid-’60s example of the German ‘people’s car’ that America took to its heart almost appears to be shedding a tear as its headlight parts company from the front wing (or fender for our US readers…).

Russell Hyzen ably assisted photographer Scott Maddern for these images, and his careful lighting is shown to particularly dramatic effect in this arresting shot.

1962-1966 Ford F-Series pick-up

This incredible image, in which photographer Maddern matches the dramatic sunset behind to the coral pink of the unscathed rear end of this half-burnt truck, is one of our favourites in the series.

Ever since the model made its debut in 1948, the F-Series pick-up has been one of America’s favourite trucks – and is now the best-selling vehicle in the USA. This fourth-generation example dates from after the ‘unibody’ was dropped for the 1963 model year, and features the more conventional ‘Styleside’ pick-up bed.

1968-1972 Mercedes-Benz 280SE

Another rare appearance for a European model, and a sad sight as what was once one of the most luxurious and capable – not to mention expensive – cars on the American highway is lost to Mother Nature’s anger.

The melted roof and sagging tail of this Mercedes-Benz 280SE shows the intense heat of the Tubbs Fire, which started in Calistoga and became the most destructive wildfire in modern Californian history. 

1966 Chevy Chevelle Malibu

A real favourite among muscle-car aficionados, the two-door Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu is a great-looking car and, by the look of what remains of the alloy wheels, this 1966 hadn’t escaped the attentions of the hot-rod fraternity.

Just like the Flareside pick-up alongside, the Malibu is unlikely to turn a wheel again, and was almost certainly one of the many once-beautiful classics to be hauled away and crushed in a local yard.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro

What a sad ending for what was once one of the most iconic pony cars of all, arch rival of the originator of the genre, the Ford Mustang.

Shorn of most of its body decoration by the fires, this 1968 Chevrolet Camaro reveals the purity of the first-generation model’s shape, which works particularly well in two-door hardtop form.

Designed in-house at Chevy’s GM Design Center, the original Camaro lasted just two years before its first restyle and the model is now into its sixth generation.

1931 Ford Model A

Another Ford Five Window Coupe, but this time based on the groundbreaking Model A. The complete destruction of this car, which was once an enthusiast’s cherished classic, is a graphic demonstration that, although time has passed since the fire, it will take years for victims to recover from the devastation. 

Following an exhibition at the Peninsula Museum of Art in Burlingame, the limited-edition prints of these fabulous images will be auctioned at a special dinner on 13 October at St Francis Winery in Santa Rosa. To buy tickets, order the book or simply donate, visit www.artoutofashes.org