"Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story" (2020 release; 41 min.) is a documentary about the 2017 wild fires in Ventura County, CA. As the movie opens, it is "December 4, 2017" and we are immediately plunged into the devastating footage of what we are told is California's largest wild fire up to that point. We then go to "Upper Ojai" as we get to know Michael and Noemie Milano, a recently married couple that is looking for a special place in California to raise their family. They settle upon Upper Ojai, and arrive with their baby girl just a month before the wild fires strike...
Couple of comments: this is a deeply personal account of what became known as the St. Thomas fires. The documentary is directed by Michael Milano, who lived through the experience first hand along with his wife and their baby girl. The documentary is a combination of TV station footage and Michael's own footage, and it makes for a very powerful experience that also sadly is pretty disheartening. The experts weigh in, including climate experts but also the Ventura County Fire Department guys, and the refrain is all too familiar: a lethal mix of strong winds, too much residential construction, and an out-of-date and questionable electricity distribution grid. Your heart goes out to the residents of Ventura County, but with now 3 more years of hindsight, we know all too well that this keep getting worse each and every year with these out of control wild fires. Meanwhile climate change deniers like the current POTUS claim with a straight face that it's all the fault of "local authorities". Yea, right. If there is one criticism I have, it is that at just 41 min. the documentary feels a little rushed. But the footage of the wild fires is what I will remember most of this documentary.
"Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in better understanding how these wild fires ravage through communities and why a new approach is desperately needed, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is a deeply personal account of what became known as the St. Thomas fires. The documentary is directed by Michael Milano, who lived through the experience first hand along with his wife and their baby girl. The documentary is a combination of TV station footage and Michael's own footage, and it makes for a very powerful experience that also sadly is pretty disheartening. The experts weigh in, including climate experts but also the Ventura County Fire Department guys, and the refrain is all too familiar: a lethal mix of strong winds, too much residential construction, and an out-of-date and questionable electricity distribution grid. Your heart goes out to the residents of Ventura County, but with now 3 more years of hindsight, we know all too well that this keep getting worse each and every year with these out of control wild fires. Meanwhile climate change deniers like the current POTUS claim with a straight face that it's all the fault of "local authorities". Yea, right. If there is one criticism I have, it is that at just 41 min. the documentary feels a little rushed. But the footage of the wild fires is what I will remember most of this documentary.
"Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in better understanding how these wild fires ravage through communities and why a new approach is desperately needed, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.