In 1899, Hill was commissioned by the English Wide World Magazine to photograph the scenery at what is now called Big Trees Grove at Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains after a forest fire had been put out with wine from a local winery. He had an altercation with the landowner, who demanded payment for allowing photographs of the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees and told him that they were destined to become firewood and railroad ties. At the turn of the century only 25% of the old growth Redwood forests remained. Hill vowed to save the redwoods for posterity. In his memoirs, he wrote of this decision: