Homes were burning and roads already jammed when Pacific Palisades evacuation order came, AP finds

By Christopher L. Keller, Rebecca Boone, Claudia Lauer, Amy Taxin, Gene Johnson, Mary Katherine Wildeman, Mark Terrill, Janie Har and John Locher

Reporters, editors, photographers, and data experts working across formats and teams secured four exclusives during the second week of the devastating California wildfires, helping AP set the national agenda on coverage.

An accountability team of Rebecca Boone, Claudia Lauer, Amy Taxin, Christopher L. Keller, and Gene Johnson detailed how the first evacuation order in Pacific Palisades came 40 minutes after homes were burning and after many residents had already fled. Boone also recorded a video explainer produced by Manuel Valdes.

The image of a seemingly untouched blue Volkswagen van in a torched neighborhood caught Mark Terrill’s eye during a flight over the Palisades burn area. The photo ricocheted across the internet, prompting the van’s owner to contact Terrill. Reporter Janie Har helped produce a story of light amid darkness.

The Eaton and Palisades fires were already known to be the most destructive to strike Los Angeles. However, Mary Katherine Wildeman and Christopher L. Keller processed many gigabytes of data to reveal the fires burned an unprecedented area of urban ground. Wildeman recorded a video explainer produced by Teresa de Miguel.

Las Vegas photographer John Locher was on the fires when he spotted pickup trucks that appeared to be firefighting scouts from the Navajo Nation. Although he was told the scouts would not give interviews, Locher arranged to shadow them for exclusive photos and interviews. He also wrote a text story with help from Morgan Lee and Hallie Golden.

The judges were impressed by the cross-team and cross-format collaboration that secured four exclusives on a highly competitive story. The coverage offered fresh insights, showing how a dedicated team, good sources, and thorough data analysis can bring new dimensions to an unfolding story.

For their relentless work to shed new light with exclusives on the continuing California wildfires story, Christopher L. Keller, Rebecca Boone, Claudia Lauer, Amy Taxin, Gene Johnson, Mary Katherine Wildeman, Mark Terrill, Janie Har, and John Locher earn this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.