Blaze that began in early hours Monday destroys at least 35 boats and cuts off escape routes

A huge fire killed at least eight people and destroyed dozens of boats in an Alabama marina early on Monday, with witnesses describing a terrifying, fast-moving blaze and fire officials warning the death toll could rise.

Tommy Jones, a Jackson county park marina resident who survived but lost his brother in the cold water, said the fire was spread rapidly by the wind. He watched helplessly as a small boat containing a woman and her children was engulfed in flames.

One might think the best color to describe Alabama would be red-brown, like its dirt, or loamy black like its best soil. Or white like its fences. Or any of the three, like its people. But blue is right. Blue skies, blue denim, blue faded scraps for quilts, the robin’s egg blue paint in portraits and on walls, muted and resilient. Blue is the hue of a fire so hot that its color has to turn cool.

Photographer Andrew Moore captures his view of the deep south state and its complicated legacy