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BEAR GULCH FIRE

On August 22, 2025, The Seattle Times reported that the Bear Gulch fire—sparked July 6—had burned over 8,000 acres around and northwest of the Staircase area of Olympic National Park. The fire, in steep, rugged terrain, was mostly uncontained.

Process

Daily updates on the fire’s perimeter were provided by IRWIN and NCIS. I used Adobe Illustrator’s ArcGIS Plugin to compile the layers. After syncing to Illustrator, I styled the layers further and added additional elements related to the story, such as the location of a firefighting camp, ranger station, and a small locator map of the state of Washington.

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HOW FORESTS STORE CARBON
Illustration: Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into sugars, using the food to grow. This process, called photosynthesis, allows plants to make their own food, storing the carbon in their tissues as they grow roots, branches and leaves. In this way, forests help fight climate change by absorbing and storing carbon pollution that is heating the planet. Big trees store the most carbon because of their mass, and long-lived species such as Douglas fir and red cedar can lock carbon away for centuries. Trees absorb carbon dioxide gas through openings in leaves or needles called stomata. Chloroplasts within leaves and needles use the energy of the sun to split water molecules drawn up through tree roots into hydrogen and oxygen, released through their stomata. Trees and other green plants create the air we breathe, and shelter and nourish life as we know it.
HOW FORESTS STORE CARBON
HUMPBACK WHALES REBOUND
HUMPBACK WHALES REBOUND
CORAL REEFS
Illustration of lion fish
CORAL REEFS
GREEN GOLD
GREEN GOLD