Liam Searson Captures the Beauty and Terror of California Wildfires

"Wildfires are equally terrifying and fascinating," the California photographer Liam Searson tells me. "Especially at night, when the daylight fades, seeing the landscape erupt in a glowing orange is a pretty unforgettable experience. Imagine if the northern lights, the Aurora Borealis, were extremely toxic and posed a major danger to those in the vicinity. Would we still find them as beautiful as we do now? In a kind of f**ked up way, that's the same way I view wildfires."