alex Thompson

Photographer

Invisible Disaster

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Location: Stockton, CA

Biography: In the famous words of Walt Whitman, "I am large, I contain multitudes.: More definitively, I am the type of person that views the world from the corner of my eye. My reality is formed from the details; the small stories that add up to form this... MORE

Homes in Signal Hill, CA, a sub... in oil fields to build homes.

1 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Homes in Signal Hill, CA, a suburb of Long Beach, sit nestled together against the constant extraction of oil. Signal Hill was first an oil field but the increasing population and need for new homes forced developers to look to the open spaces in oil fields to build homes.

During a 'Shut it Down... thousands out of their homes.

2 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

During a 'Shut it Down' protest at Mason Park in Chatsworth, CA, a young girl approached the microphone to describe her experience with and fear of the gas leak that left thousands out of their homes.

Mike, a resident of Chatsworth,...owns surrounding Porter Ranch.

3 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Mike, a resident of Chatsworth, was forced to flee his home after the largest gas leak in national history polluted the air in the towns surrounding Porter Ranch.

The bedroom of Mike's son ...ere forced to flee their home.

4 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

The bedroom of Mike's son left empty after they were forced to flee their home.

Inside a hotel room in Thousand...en living with their families.

5 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Inside a hotel room in Thousand Oaks where refugees of the Porter Ranch Gas Leak had been living with their families.

Andrew Krowne, a resident of Ch...ildren for more than 5 months.

6 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Andrew Krowne, a resident of Chatsworth, CA, in his hotel room. After the gas leak, his children reported chronic headaches which forced them out of their home. He had been staying in this hotel room with his five children for more than 5 months.

Many residents of the community... have led to contaminating it.

7 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Many residents of the community of Signal Hill refuse to drink their water, believing the past century of near-constant drilling in the area could have led to contaminating it.

Oil wells dot the neighborhood ...s, backyards and parking lots.

8 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Oil wells dot the neighborhood of Signal Hill and are often found in parks, backyards and parking lots.

The Signal Hill 'Discovery...ourt in a park in Signal Hill.

9 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

The Signal Hill 'Discovery Well' sits adjacent to a basketball court in a park in Signal Hill.

Windsor Hills Elementary School...the playground of this school.

10 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Windsor Hills Elementary School in Los Angeles sits across the street from the Inglewood Oil Field, the largest urban oil field in the country. The unique seismic activity due to the Newport-Inglewood Fault along with the hydraulic fracturing activities in the oil field forced an echolon shear to develop across the playground of this school.

A resident of Windsor Hills, CA

11 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

A resident of Windsor Hills, CA

In Ladera Heights, commonly nic... problems that commonly occur.

12 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

In Ladera Heights, commonly nicknamed the 'Black Beverly Hills' residents live in the shadow of the Inglewood Oil Field, constantly living under the threat of health and environmental problems that commonly occur.

Porter Ranch Town Center sits i...r of 2015 to February of 2016.

13 of 13 © 2024 Alex Thompson

Porter Ranch Town Center sits in the shadow of the natural gas storage facility, operated by SoCal Gas, that lines the ridge of the canyon above the town. In late 2015, that facility had the largest methane gas leak in national history that persisted from October of 2015 to February of 2016.

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Private Story

Invisible Disaster

Copyright alex Thompson 2024

Updated Dec 2016

Topics Documentary, Environment, Environmental, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture

In October of 2015, Porter Ranch, a small community in Los Angeles County, faced the largest methane gas leak in United States history. More than 100,000 tons of toxic gas was leaked and contaminated the air breathed in by families in Porter Ranch and surrounding communities. With more than 5,000 families forced to relocate for months on end, most would think the issue would cause public outrage. Instead, many remained ignorant. Los Angeles is home to oil fields such as those at Signal Hill and Inglewood - both of which exist in the center of dense neighborhoods surrounded by schools, homes, parks and busy shopping centers. This extensive oil infrastructure being largely ignored gives reason to the fact that so few seem to care about the events unfolding in Porter Ranch. This disaster remains invisible to those unaffected yet is something that could happen to any one of those millions of Angelenos living in the shadow of oil infrastructure. Our addiction to fossil fuels has taken precedence over the safety of our environments and ourselves. Until we choose to recognize the dangers of what is right in front of us tragedies like that in Porter Ranch will only continue to occur.

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Illma Gore for Guardian US

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