Growing up in California, photographer Stuart Palley has spent a lifetime both fascinated by and well-accustomed to wildfires—a captivation that he has kindled through his career.

Based in Southern California, Palley has spent the past five years photographing wildland fires in the state, capturing a vast array of stunning images from Orange County to Yosemite. (Learn wildfire safety tips.)

This year, with raging wildfires throughout California burning hundreds of thousands of acres, Palley has had no shortage of opportunities to continue his ongoing project. “I thought since we had a wet winter the fire activity would be mitigated,” Palley says, “but grasses and dead trees impacted by the bark beetle have caught fire.”

Up-close photographic access to these fires