Honorable Mention
![Gates of Hell - Australia's Black Summer](/upload/images/1635026006typgugates_of_hell_1200_jochen_spencer.jpg)
Gates of Hell - Australia's Black Summer
DESCRIPTION
As a firestorm approaches property in the Blue Mountains during Australia's Black Summer Bushfires, neighbours come to help defend against the inferno. This scene depicts the seemingly impossible task residents faced against rapidly moving fire and thick smoke. This was one of the final images I captured before fleeing to shelter in a fire bunker. More than 80% of the iconic Blue Mountains World Heritage Area was burnt during Australia's Black Summer Bushfires in 2019/2020. Across the country thousands of homes were destroyed and 26 lives lost. Millions of hectares of land was burnt by the time the fire season was finished.