Like A Scene From Mars the Sky Turned Orange
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Wildfires raging through Oregon, Washington, California, and neighboring states caused an eerie orange light to appear over parts of the West Coast on Wednesday, NBC News reports.
“I have never seen the sky in SF look like this in the nearly 20 years I’ve lived here,” wrote one Twitter user, who added that it “looks like a scene from Mars.”
Bay Area residents also saw their sky darken as the morning wore on, the sun invisible behind a veil of smoke, and one described a “strange smell, although not a smell of wildfire as you would expect.” Air quality was reported as moderate, but the National Weather Service said area air monitors—which pick up smaller particulates—might be unable to measure the larger falling ash.
Meanwhile, the AP reports that firefighters could get a break from a temperature drop of up to 60 degrees that helped curb wildfires in Montana and Colorado. The weather service said:
“The significantly colder airmass is helping reduce critical fire conditions across the West, however, most of West coastline and adjacent counties have Red Flag warnings in effect for part of today,”
Dry conditions and gusty winds have spelled trouble for firefighters thus far, fueling an unprecedented fire tally in California and burning more acreage in one day than Washington usually sees in a year. People have also evacuated their homes in Idaho and Oregon.
Edited via Newser
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I had to turn on my lights in the house at 1 today it is so dark and dreary looking. Last time I saw anything this dark is when I went to Scotland for that wedding a little while ago. BF says they are almost choking, the fires are so bad where he is fighting them right now. Won’t be seeing him for at least another week or two and I am not happy about this.
It takes a lot of courage to fight these flames. It has to be tough for you, that waiting.
Once upon a time 50 some years ago, I used to fight what were called forest fires then, even taught fire suppression technique, fire line technique. I was running a bulldozer cutting fire line, got caught in a wind shift, surrounded by it, managed to bulldoze out a hole in a creek bed deep enough to survive in. There is no way to describe the scream of the updraft, the terror as it crowns above you, the scorching heat, waiting for one tall torch to fall on you…..
Nightmares
There is nothing like the orange glow that lights the sky for miles around.
The terror
It has been dark here and the smell of smoke is just overwhelming.
Wow Stacey. Your description puts us there. You are right: it’s a nightmare.