Rocket Launch Destroys Camera

I saw this image on the web and had to investigate:

It turns out the story is true, but not how I imagined it.

NASA photographer Bill Ingalls set up several remotely triggered cameras near the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to capture a SpaceX launch. And he was successful:

Image from NASA / Bill Ingalls.

Ingalls went to pick up his cameras, and he had ones closer to the launch pad that were just fine. But one that was farther away and captured the previous image looked like this:

Image from NASA / Bill Ingalls.

No, it wasn't the blast of the rocket that burned this instantly (which is how I imagined it in my mind). Instead, the rocket launch sparked a brush fire (which is apparently not uncommon) and Ingalls camera fell victim. He said it had continued to take photos "until its demise," and shared one of the final images:

Image from NASA / Bill Ingalls.

Is that the lens hood melting down at the top of that image? Wild.