Skies above California and Oregon have turned an apocalyptic fiery orange.
Massive wildfires fueled by high winds and dry conditions have scorched more than 2.3 million acres across the Western U.S., leaving firefighters scrambling to contain them and residents evacuating the region.
A search for “San Francisco sky” on Twitter returns horrifying images.
Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge at 9:20 IN THE MORNING. pic.twitter.com/nyiY0vWxf5
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) September 9, 2020
Eli Harik wears a mask while gazing at the Bay Bridge and heavy orange skies due to nearby wildfires hanging over San Francisco on Wednesday, September 9 @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/B2wahjkeRw
— Jessica Christian (@jachristian) September 9, 2020
Some have likened the images to something seen only in movies or space.
'Like a scene from Mars': Skies in parts of California turn orange as wildfires continue https://t.co/V7sO6adxQz via @nbcnews
— David Ingram (@David_Ingram) September 9, 2020
Because the fires are farther away from the Bay Area, smoke is getting sent high into the atmosphere, National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass told sfgate.com. The polluted air hovered above a marine layer in the early morning.
“That’s the reason it doesn’t smell smoky but the sky is a different color,” Gass said told the website.
The northern peak of Mt. Diablo is barely visible through the thick smoke as the morning sun turns the sky a bright orange in downtown Concord, Calif., on Sept. 9, 2020. #CaliforniaWildfires #eastbay @EastBayTimes pic.twitter.com/dSuidl9oyf
— Jose Carlos Fajardo (@jcfphotog) September 9, 2020
This is what the sky looks like from Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, California. At last check the Oak Fire has burned more than 800 acres and is just 5% contained. Courtesy: Kuh-Lee Ann @abc7newsbayarea https://t.co/wjRFn7yC0y pic.twitter.com/hyQQZStTxG
— J.R. Stone (@jrstonelive) September 8, 2020
Can’t quite capture the orange of the California sky with your smartphone camera?
— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) September 9, 2020
That’s because our photos are all fake now — with colors selected by AI, trained on what we think is pleasing. It decides what’s “real."
I once wrote a column on this:https://t.co/vSGQKoz4Ew pic.twitter.com/NyEsESoJtS
The threat of winds tearing down power lines or hurling debris into them and sparking a wildfire prompted Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, to shut off power to 172,000 customers in Northern California. More outages were expected Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
