As I drive towards Pacific Palisades, the heart of the LA wildfires, ash falls like snow. The air is sulphurous and my throat burns. Up ahead in the distance, the sky glows an angry red. On the opposite side of the road, traffic is backed up. Everyone else is trying to get out. An American friend with me struggles to take it all in. ‘This is f***ing unbelievable, man,’ he repeats softly to himself. Even by LA standards these fires are unprecedented. They are the worst not only in the history of California but the history of the United States....