‘Fire chaser’ shares harrowing frontline wildfire photos and reveals the biggest danger is when the flames die

Many have been told to run from danger, but Josh Edelson does the opposite.

Edelson, an experienced photo journalist, has been on the frontline for about 15 years capturing the terror of wildfires in California.

The snapper, who wears firefighter gear and is often close behind a crew when major blazes break out, recently got the chance to show his impressive work from the past ten years at the annual Visa pour l’image festival in Pérignon, France.

While speaking about the exhibit entitled ‘A Decade of Wildfire’, Edelson told the Daily Mail that although some might think the blistering flames are the most dangerous part of the job, it’s really when the fire goes out that you have to worry.

When asked to describe one of his scariest encounters capturing wildfires, Edelson spoke about the danger he and firefighters refer to as ‘windowmakers’.

About 10 years ago he was picturing the Valley Fire just as the flames went out when all of a sudden he saw ‘some power lines shaking violently as if there was like a dinosaur in the bushes’.

After deciding to ‘floor’ his car for his own safety, Edelson turned back and realized a massive tree had fallen right behind his car.

‘And that actually scares me more than getting caught in flames. Firefighters call those widowmakers, because after the fires go out, or after it seems like the fire has gone out, trees can still burn from the inside of the tree or even down under the ground into the roots for sometimes weeks after fires go out,’ he explained.

Josh Edelson, an experienced photo journalist who is known for taking photos of natural disasters, including wildfires, shared the biggest danger he faces on the frontlines

An inmate firefighter pauses during a firing operation as the Carr fire continues to burn in Redding, California on July 27, 2018

Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025

Edelson captured Yuba County Sheriff officers carry a body away from a burned residence in Paradise, California, on November 10, 2018

Firefighters remove a US flag as flames from the ‘Wall Fire’ close in on a luxury home in Oroville, California on July 8, 2017

Dozens of burned vehicles rest in heavy smoke during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California on August 6, 2021

An air tanker drops fire retardant along a ridge to help contain the Rocky fire near Clearlake, California on August 2, 2015

Edelson, who recently got to display his impressive work at the annual Visa pour l’image festival in France, shared details of what it’s like behind the scenes of his unique job

‘So trees fall all the time. You don’t know when a tree is going to fall or where. So that’s actually a really big danger,’ he added.

He went on to describe another unimaginable time he literally had to drive through a fire to save his and another photographer’s life.

It was during the Dixie Fire in 2020 when the town of Greenville burned down, and instead of running from it, Edelson, of course, ran right for it.

He and another photographer made their way down a narrow two-lane road in two separate cars surrounded by 150ft tall trees on both sides, when all of sudden they were confronted by a huge fire in the middle of the street.

Edelson recalled: ‘And as I’m trying to get to the town I came to a spot where the fire just was completely going across the road.

‘Like, all the trees were on fire. It was basically a wall of fire. So clearly, I could not continue, so I stopped.’

Both he and his friend quickly started to message each other and communicate on the radio to figure out their next move during the ‘pretty terrifying moment’.

‘So, we were stuck. We were basically pinched in between two massive flame fronts. They were kind of, like, closing in on us. That was a pretty terrifying moment,’ he said.

A firefighter is seen in the midst of flames during the the Bear fire, part of the North Lightning Complex fires in September 2020

Inmate firefighters arrive at the scene of the Water fire in Whitewater, California on August 2, 2020

Residents drink and listen to country music in the street while ignoring a mandatory evacuation order as the Dixie fire approaches in Greenville, California on July 23, 2021

Firefighters watch as flames from the County Fire climb a hillside in Guinda, California in July 2018

Evacuated Chester resident April Phillips wipes her face while watching a family dog at an evacuation center for the Dixie fire at Lassen Community College in Susanville, California in August 2021

A resident hoses down a burning bicycle and tree as flames from the Hennessey approach a property in the Spanish Flat area of Napa, California on August 18, 2020

It was then that Edelson decided it was time to take a risk as he picked up on the time between the burning trees.

‘Like, you know if you burn a bunch of matches, like, it’ll do a big burst of flame, and then there’ll be, like, a second or so between.

‘The big flame, and when the next one goes up there’s, like, a very short window in between when the trees would burn and I tried to time it right between, and then we just punched it and drove right through it [the flames].’

He added: ‘That was the only choice. If we had stayed, we would have been in a much worse situation.’

For him, that moment was less about getting the perfect action shot of the flames, and more about putting him and his pals’ lives first.

Stress and concern comes with any dangerous job and Edelson and his family are no strangers to this.

Since he and his wife had their son three years ago, the photographer said his entire outlook on his career has changed.

‘And I’ve been doing this much longer than since I’ve had a kid. It was definitely easier when we didn’t have a child.

Motorists drive past flames from the ‘Wall Fire’ along Forbestown Road in Oroville, California on July 8, 2017

Rescue workers sift through rubble in search of human remains at a burned property in Paradise, California on November 14, 2018

A for sale sign remains as homes and cars smolder during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on January 8, 2025

Firefighters work to control flames from a backfire during the Maria fire in Santa Paula, California in November 2019

A man walks through the remains of her burned home during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 9, 2025

Firefighters prepare to fight flames from inside Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School auditorium as the school burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025

Elderly patients are quickly evacuated into emergency vehicles as embers and flames approach during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2025

In this long exposure photo, fire smolders on a hillside during the Lilac fire in unincorporated San Diego County, California on January 21, 2025

Goats look on as flames approach a home during the Thompson fire in Oroville, California on July 2, 2024

Edelson spoke about the danger he and firefighters refer to as ‘windowmakers’ – when trees continue to burn even after the flames of a fire have gone out

‘But now I have a child and every time I leave she (his wife) has to pick up the slack because I’m not there to help,’ he added.

His wife often worries about his health as he races into infernos, but the biggest challenge they face is the work-life balance, he said.

‘It’s tricky because I have to choose which fires are worth the stress on the relationship,’ he explained, adding that small fires aren’t as pressing compared to the ones that impact communities and cause evacuations.

Despite the everlasting danger that comes with chasing wildfires and other natural disasters, including tornadoes and earthquakes, Edelson said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘Natural disasters are definitely the thing that I’m most interested in mostly because I feel like… humans…We think that we’ve, you know, got control of the planet, that we’re, like, the master of our environment and that we control the earth, we control the weather, we control everything.

‘But then mother nature comes in and is like I’m about to show you how small you really are, and it forces you into a humbleness.’

Although picturing natural disasters is his biggest passion, Edelson said it only accounts for about 20 to 30 percent of his ‘normal workflow’.

He also does a lot of corporate photography, including events, headshots and advertising campaigns.