Updated: September 10, 2020 3:13:36 pm
While the sky turned light yellow on Tuesday, it darkened to a deep orange the next morning. (Source: New York Times)
Residents of San Francisco and several other cities on the US West Coast woke to eerie orange skies after clouds of smoke from several nearby wildfires blocked all sunlight and triggered a shower of ash and soot. .
San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley were covered in orange-to-rust skies as strong winds continued to carry smoke and ash from wildfires to parts of Northern California, CNN reported. While the sky was dyed light yellow on Tuesday, it darkened to a deep orange the next morning, bystanders said.
VIDEO: The ominous orange sky lends an apocalyptic tint to San Francisco.
San Francisco had a bright orange-tinged sky Wednesday caused by smoke from wildfires burning in California after historically high temperatures and high winds. pic.twitter.com/CkfxgA9IA9
– AFP news agency (@AFP) September 10, 2020
Shocking images show “apocalyptic” red and orange skies over California and Oregon as thousands of unprecedented and relentless wildfires ravage the US West Coast. Https://t.co/8UhRY5p9ml pic.twitter.com/CP1Smv6fCP
– CBS News (@CBSNews) September 9, 2020
“When smoke and ash get even thicker near wildfires, they can cut out the sunlight completely, making it look like the dead of night,” explained CNN meteorologist Judson Jones.
The recent wildfires caused a 25-day stretch of poor air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area, setting a new record for the region. The record was previously set in 2018, when plumes of smoke from the devastating Camp Fire caused a sharp decline in air quality for 14 days in a row.
A sinister orange glow has filled the sky over the Bay Area in Northern California as relentless wildfires ravage the western states. Here’s the latest: https://t.co/olPrAUKS0B pic.twitter.com/ao52Rz1zGm
– The New York Times (@nytimes) September 9, 2020
Surprisingly, despite darkening skies and ash rains, the air quality index in San Francisco did not reach unhealthy levels Wednesday, the AP reported. Fog from the Pacific Ocean, wedged between smoke and ground, acted as a filter, according to reports.
Social media was flooded with images and videos shared from the streets of California cities, which were shrouded in darkness all day. Aamir Vaid, a San Francisco resident, had to cancel his plans for lunch in the city due to cloudy skies.
“It feels like I should be in bed sleeping,” Vaid told the Associated Press. He added that it felt “strange and ominous outside.” “Good morning, heck,” another social media user tweeted, sharing a picture of the bright orange sky from his living room window.
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge at 9:20 AM. pic.twitter.com/nyiY0vWxf5
– Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) September 9, 2020
good morning hell pic.twitter.com/5PpkARmukL
– brian wickman (@wickman) September 9, 2020
Absolutely no filter involved here. This is the morning sky over San Francisco at 8am. Orange, dark and ashen BC from forest fire. I was two days away from my eighth birthday when Mt. St. Helens shook the planet. I’m from Seattle-Tacoma and I remember the sky looked like this. pic.twitter.com/zgOkT2Ou5f
– Will Tran (@ KRON4WTran) September 9, 2020
“I was wondering what time it was. I looked out and it seemed like the end of the world, ”Oakland resident Carl Juan Anderson told the New York Times. “It feels like the end of the world!” Berkeley resident Beth Ghelghorn said.
A series of wildfires broke out in California in August amid an intense heat wave. Nearly 14,000 firefighters have been deployed to put out the flames, which are believed to have obliterated at least 2.5 million acres of land to date. Of the multiple wildfires, the SCU Lightning Complex has become one of the most dangerous in state history.
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