Burned-out cars of Santa Rosa are vehicles for charity

Once the houses were gone, the cars were easy to spot, sitting and waiting for their owners like loyal pets in the garages and driveways of burnt-out Santa Rosa.

That’s what Walnut Creek photographer Scott Maddern saw when he drove up two weeks after the inferno last fall and started shooting the cars in their various states ranging from plastic shells to steel carcasses.

"The situation was very surreal. You drive by these homes and everything is leveled except a brick chimney and a car,” said Maddern, 48. “The cars were extremely colorful and interesting the way the fire left them, even though they are a morbid subject.