By Charles Swanson | Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Press Democrat photographer Kent Porter is accustomed to being the first journalist on the scene of breaking news, and he’s no stranger to driving hundreds of miles to cover a story. But his presence at a Yolo County fireworks warehouse explosion Tuesday was unlike any assignment he’s faced before.

Here’s how it unfolded.

For the veteran, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, who joined the newspaper in 1987, it was supposed to be a straightforward work day. He was bound for the Sacramento Valley to shoot a portrait for an upcoming news feature.

“Drive east, photograph, grab a sandwich and scoot home,” he said Wednesday morning.

The day had other plans.

As Porter entered Petaluma from his Santa Rosa start point, a brush fire ignited, so he stopped, shot a few photos and a video. Thankfully, for residents around the 1700 Block of Petaluma Boulevard North, the half-acre Oak Fire, which sparked just after noon, was quickly put out. But Porter was already behind schedule.

After leaving Petaluma and navigating the eternal mess of Highway 37 along the northern edge of San Pablo Bay, Porter made it to Interstate 80, headed east, still hoping for smooth sailing to his assignment.

Nope.

Just a mile out of Fairfield, two vehicles collided, bringing traffic to a standstill. Porter was delayed again.

He arrived at the assignment an hour late, took the photos, chatted for a while then said his goodbyes. The day’s scheduled task was completed.

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“I’m a firm believer everything happens for a reason in the news gathering business,” Porter said. “Delays are an integral part of being in the right place at the moment an event unfolds.”

Porter fueled up and was on his way back to Sonoma County. He still had not grabbed that sandwich.

Just minutes into his drive home, however, he saw smoke from what turned out to be a brush fire on the horizon just outside of Vacaville. It was the 15-acre Brown Fire, which at the time was threatening homes, so Porter detoured and spent about half an hour making photos.

There, he ran into Cal Fire’s Boggs Mountain Helitack crew loading up to go to another fire after helping to contain the Solano County blaze.

“I asked where and the crew fire captain said, ‘Winters,’” Porter said. “’What next?’ I asked myself.”

Sure enough, a large column of smoke was rising above the northern horizon. Porter didn’t hesitate. He headed north on Interstate 505, straight into the teeth of another fire.

Only this one would be unlike the many hundreds of wildfires he’s covered before.

Three distinct, aggressive smoke columns could be seen rising from the flat valley landscape as he got closer. Listening to a police scanner, Porter was able to gather the larger plume was a structure fire in the town of Esparto, on the western edge of the valley in Yolo County, about 18 miles northwest of Davis.

He was held back at first by a roadblock on Highway 16 near Esparto and again on County Road 23. Then he was able to find a way in to the farming community and came across a California Highway Patrol roadblock. He was waved through under the strong legal allowances granted to journalists covering disasters in California.

“No one was really saying what was on fire, I just figured it was a residence with a lot of fireworks and ammunition,” Porter said. “Boy, was I wrong.”

The structure was not a residence, but a warehouse filled with July 4-ready fireworks. Porter did not know that at the time.

He started by taking photos of personnel working the main fire and several spot fires that had spread across a wheat field.

All of a sudden, Porter heard and felt three “guttural” explosions rock the warehouse, followed by a pressure wave that hit him with stunning force.

“The air and noise doesn’t go around you, it goes through you,” he said.

A surge of adrenaline rushed through his body. He checked to make sure he was not hit by shrapnel. He also kept checking overhead power lines to make sure they had not become dislodged.

Within moments, maybe minutes, “I returned to a calm status,” he said. “Almost a surreal calm.”

And he was back to shooting photos, capturing what would be the first widely published images of an explosion that by Wednesday afternoon left seven people unaccounted for.

Porter remained on scene until wind shifted and the smoke clouded his view and way out, spurring him to leave out of precaution.

He was still overwhelmed as he left Esparto via Highway 16 to Highway 20 through Lake County, where he stopped to compose himself and dwell a little more on what had happened.

“I called a couple of good friends and fellow journalists, relayed my experience just to get an idea what they’ve witnessed in the same type of situation,” he said. “Good to have friends.”

He stopped in at the Oaks Red and White Market in Clearlake Oaks. The deli had closed for the day, so he purchased bread, sliced meat, chips and pickles.

“Made my own sandwich while taking a real good look at the images I’d made, choosing the most impactful pictures to send for publication,” he said. “Simple end to a complicated day.”

On Wednesday afternoon, as the toll of the disaster was coming into sharper focus, he also shared his sadness at the lives affected by the disaster.

“Looking at the photos this morning,” he said, “there’s nothing left.”