Creating A new relationship
with fire
After four summers working as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, Michael Sherman of Spring Fed Media felt like he understood fire. When his home community on the McKenzie River burned in 2020, that understanding was flipped upside down. This started a new journey of learning and sharing the interconnections of fire ecology, policy, and culture.
Burning to Heal
The Almeda Fire blew through Southern Oregon, burning over 2,500 homes. Just three years later, a landowner, fire professionals, and community members are working to bring fire back to the land in a positive way. “Burning to Heal” is a short documentary examining our relationship with fire and how that relationship could evolve into the future.
After the Lookout Fire
The HJ Andrews Research Forest burned in the 2023 Lookout Fire. After the smoke cleared, the science community was still unable to visit because of forest safety closures. Spring Fed Media was hired to spark intrigue and provide a view into recently burned research areas.
FireSense Campaign
NAsA & The Department of Defense
The goal of the FireSense campaign was to collect data from 15-20 research teams from the ground level up to satellite views, enabling science to become operational and utilized on the ground by managers and first responders. This involved a full week of filming at the burn location on the Army base outside of Savannah, Georgia. At a second location in Panama City Beach, Florida, I captured the NASA aircraft flights collecting data over the prescribed burns. The project is currently in editing with an expected distribution and release date of late 2025 to early 2026.
Doug Dunbar Scholarship
Having grown up attending the McKenzie Schools from grades K-12, Doug Dunbar was a name that was known, but his story was becoming less vivid with time. I was tasked with telling his story and the story of the Storm King Fire, with the video being shown each year as the scholarship was presented at the McKenzie High School graduation ceremony. This project hit close to home on many levels with my past as a wildland firefighter and a McKenzie High School Graduate.
McKenzie Community Land Trust
After the Holiday Farm Fire, reasonably priced housing was greatly needed as the community rebuilt. The McKenzie Community Land Trust was formed to build and sell housing in Blue River while leasing the land for 99 years to keep costs affordable. This video had a two-minute length requirement and a specifc aspect ratio to be broadcast during the Eugene Emeralds Baseball game on the jumbotron.
Wildfire PreparEdness
Community Outward
Oregon has 60 million acres of land and 30 million acres of forest. We cannot cut our way to a fire-free future or reduce fire risk over vast landscapes. We can focus our limited time, energy, and money on ensuring our homes and communities are ready when fire comes.
Are you and your neighbors prepared for wildfire?
More Perfect Union
How America can Prevent devastating wildfires
The production company, More Perfect Union, hired me to capture B-roll and interviews after the Bootleg fire in Central/Eastern Oregon. We had one pre-production call before filming, and I was given GPS coordinates with written driving instructions for where to meet in a remote area of Oregon. I was able to capture several scenes and interviews to then hand the footage off for the client to complete the edit.
Emerald People’s Utility district
Tree Trimming & Wildfire responSe
With the 2020 Labor Day Fires fresh in people’s minds, Emerald People’s Utility District wanted to show their customers how everyone needs to work together to help reduce and mitigate risk. Many fires start from sparking power lines during windstorms, creating the perfect conditions for extreme fire behavior and growth.
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