Waking up on Wednesday, Californians living in the San Francisco Bay Area witnessed an eerie sight. The sky outside the window turned a dull orange color — making many think that the apocalypse had come.
“California never seems to be dawn anymore,” joked one of the eyewitnesses, writer Andrew Leonard.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least 32 fires raged in California, more than 64 thousand people were ordered to evacuate. CalFire reported 7 fatalities and warned that the number is likely to continue to rise.
No, those images are NOT Photoshop color tinted. It is that bad. # CaliforniaFires pic.twitter.com/ouEWj32Aqs
— Ed Boon (@noobde) September 10, 2020
As explained in The Bay Area Air Quality District, it was because of the thick smoke from the fires that the sky turned from blue to orange.
Where's Furiosa and Max? #CaliforniaFires pic.twitter.com/oUQeFrWZJf
— Peter (@ P4dagreat) September 10, 2020
“Smoke particles scatter blue light and only allow yellow, orange and red to reach the surface. — they wrote in an official statement — That is why the sky becomes so dark. »
Took these all around 10am today on the Oregon Coast, absolutely no filter #OregonFires pic.twitter.com/JIfoSbYUed
— Emily Adams (@ thisemily1) September 9, 2020
California is not the only one of its kind. The skies over Oregon, where fires have destroyed more than 230,000 acres, have taken on an even more sinister, bright red. Locals who managed to shoot it on camera emphasize that they took the pictures before sunset.
This photo was taken yesterday by @reddit user RavenRosie in Sublimity, OR.
I don't think humans are psychologically primed to process a sky that's * red *. pic.twitter.com/W1OeQTHjcL
— Paul Byrne (@ThePlanetaryGuy) September 9, 2020
To date, about 40 major fires have been recorded in California, Oregon and Washington, resulting from heat waves and strong winds.
It's noon in Stayton OR and things are looking absolutely unreal. Currently getting ready to leave once they send out a level 3 alert. #oregon #OregonFires pic.twitter.com/J9EPUGFaqC
— Jordan Millett (@ JelloJordan02) September 8, 2020
Oregon Governor Keith Brown said that although she has witnessed «historic wildfires» every year since taking office, this year the situation has taken on «unprecedented» proportions.
