field journalism 2025-09-13T06:31:28Z

Sweat stung my eyes as ash rained like gray snow, the wildfire's roar swallowing every other sound. My satellite phone blinked uselessly - zero bars since the winds shifted. Fifty miles from the nearest town, with evacuation orders blaring on dead radios, the inferno footage trapped in my camera might as well have been hieroglyphs. That's when my producer's last text echoed: "Try LUCI or we lose the lead."

Rain hammered against the jeep's roof like a frantic drum solo as we skidded through mud-clogged backroads. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel—not from the storm, but from the three blinking words on my phone: "No Service Available." Outside, floodwaters swallowed farm fences whole while families scrambled onto rooftops with whatever they could carry. I was the only journalist for miles, and my live feed had just flatlined mid-sentence. That sinking feeling? It wasn't just the axle-dee