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Cal Fire firefighters monitor the progress of the Rocky Fire on Aug. 1, 2015 near Clearlake, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Cal Fire firefighters monitor the progress of the Rocky Fire on Aug. 1, 2015 near Clearlake, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Celebration, Destruction and Giant Pumpkins: The Year in Photos, 2015

Celebration, Destruction and Giant Pumpkins: The Year in Photos, 2015

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From celebratory cheers to mournful vigils, the Bay Area was the background for some striking news photographs in 2015.

There were celebrations on the steps of San Francisco City Hall when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage and in the streets of Oakland when the Golden State Warriors won their first NBA championship in 40 years.

The Rocky and Valley fires brought scenes of destruction, while Candlestick Park was the scene of man-made demolition. And an all-too-common sight, victims of gun violence remembered by loved ones with candlelight vigils.

And there were also giant pumpkins.

A collection of some of our favorite news photos of 2015:

Members of the Bay Area legal community gathered outside the California Supreme Court on Friday morning. For 15 minutes attorneys, legal staff, law students and allies lay silently on the steps of the courthouse in a "Die-In" to advocate for racial justice. (Anya Schultz/KQED)
Members of the Bay Area legal community gather outside the California Supreme Court in January 2015. For 15 minutes, attorneys, legal staff, law students and allies lay silently on the steps of the courthouse in a 'Die-In' to advocate for racial justice. (Anya Schultz/KQED)
Golden State Warriors fans celebrate their team's 2015 NBA Finals win outside of Oakland City Hall on June 16, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
Golden State Warriors fans celebrate their team's 2015 NBA Finals win outside Oakland City Hall on June 16, 2015 (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Stephen Curry rides through Oakland with the NBA Championship trophy during the Warriors Championship parade. (Adam Grossberg/KQED)
Stephen Curry rides through Oakland with the NBA championship trophy during the Warriors victory parade in June 2015 (Adam Grossberg/KQED) (Adam Grossberg/KQED)
Hundreds of people came out at San Francisco City Hall after the Supreme Court announced its decision overturning same-sex marriage bans.
Hundreds of people came out to San Francisco City Hall after the Supreme Court announced its decision overturning same-sex marriage bans in June 2015. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)
A worker walks next to a demolished section of Candlestick Park on June 9, 2015.
A worker walks next to a demolished section of Candlestick Park on June 9, 2015. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A memorial for Kate Steinle on San Francisco's Pier 14, where she was fatally shot on July 1.
A memorial for Kate Steinle on San Francisco's Pier 14, where she was fatally shot on July 1, 2015. Steinle's death has become political fodder in the 'sanctuary city' debate. (Susan Cohen/KQED)
Cal Fire firefighters monitor the progress of the Rocky Fire on August 1, 2015 near Clearlake, California. Over 1,900 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire that burned over 22,000 acres since it started on Wednesday afternoon. The fire is currently five percent contained and has destroyed at least 14 homes. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Cal Fire firefighters monitor the progress of the Rocky Fire on Aug. 1, 2015, near Clearlake, California. The fire at that point was 5 percent contained and had destroyed at least 14 homes. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Melted metal flows from a burned out car abandoned on a highway during the Valley fire in Middletown, California on September 13, 2015. The governor of California declared a state of emergency Sunday as raging wildfires spread in the northern part of the drought-ridden US state, forcing thousands to flee the flames. The town of Middletown, population 1,300, was particularly devastated by the Valley Fire, according to local daily Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, which said the fire grew from 50 acres to 10,000 over just five hours Saturday -- before quadrupling in size overnight. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
Melted metal flows from a burned-out car abandoned on a highway during the Valley fire in Middletown, California, on September 13, 2015. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
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Artist Antonio Ramos was shot and killed in West Oakland while painting a mural for the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project. Marquise R. Holloway, a 20-year-old Oakland resident, was eventually arrested in connection to the murder. (Andrew Stelzer/KQED)
Steve Daletas of Pleasant Hill, OR won the 42nd Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with his 1,969 pound pumpkin. This is Daletas’ third time winning the weigh off in Half Moon Bay.
Steve Daletas of Pleasant Hill, Oregon, won the 42nd Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with his 1,969-pound pumpkin. This is Daletas’ third time winning the weigh-off in Half Moon Bay. (Erica Cruz Guevarra/KQED (Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED )

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