Photographer Tim O Hara is one of the founders of the Ashes to Art project.
In 2012, the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins burned more than 87,000 acres. At the time it was the state’s largest wildfire, destroying 259 homes and claiming one life. Eight years later, the Cameron Peak Fire burned more than twice as much land, becoming the largest in Colorado history. During both events, one local program sifted through the ashes to create art and help firefighters.
Tim O’Hara has been a commercial photographer in Colorado for years, a career spent capturing images of beauty. But when the High Park Fire began practically in his own backyard, O’Hara and his colleague, photo stylist Lori Joseph, witnessed images that were hard to look at.