and trees suffering from several years of drought.

Meanwhile, east of Fresno, the Rough Fire continues to scorch everything in its path. The blaze had destroyed 203 square miles of forest land as of late Sunday.

Responding to the devastation, California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa counties. He has also called up the California National Guard and requested funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Although California is no stranger to battling wildfires, Mark Ghilarducci – director of the governor's Office of Emergency Services – said this summer's fires are the most volatile he's seen in 30 years of emergency response work, due to the extremely dry conditions from a four-year drought.

"The bushes, the trees have absolutely no moisture in them, andchaotic and barren
background. The image has an ethereal quality, suggesting the alienation of
life from a world of violence and suffering. To create this delicate and
atmospheric photograph, Revell suspended real poppies in a water tank and
added coloured dyes to create swirling mist-like patterns. The result, after
much painstaking experimentation, is a painterly effect that captures the
solitary poppy’s fragility and vulnerability.

1st CLASS - ‘TO MY BROTHER’, VERA BRITTAINVera Brittain was born in 1893 in Staffordshire. At the outbreak of
the war, her younger brother Edward applied for a commission, and in 1915
Vera trained as a nurse. In June 1918, she wrote ‘To My Brother’, a
poem commemorating Edward’s bravery on the Somme two years previously, in
which she addressed her brother with the following words: “May you endure to
lead the last advance”. Four days