Massive smoke clouds, thick air darken Western US skies

People from San Francisco to Seattle woke Wednesday to hazy clouds of smoke lingering in air, darkening sky to an eerie orange glow that kept street lights illuminated into midday, all thanks to dozens of wildfires throughout West.

“It’s after 9 a.m. and re’s still sign of sun,” California Highway Patrol’s Golden Gate division tweeted, urging drivers to turn on ir headlights and slow down.

Social media was filled with photos of unusual sky and many people complained ir cellphone cameras weren’t accurately capturing golden hues.

Despite foreboding skies, re was little scent of smoke and air quality index did t reach unhealthy levels. That’s because fog drifting from Pacific Ocean was sandwiched between smoke and surface. Meanwhile, smoke particles above marine layer were only allowing yellow-orange-red light to reach surface, said Ralph Borrmann, a spokesman for Bay Area Air Quality Manment District.

He said conditions were expected to remain until Friday; by n district expects to issue its 25th consecutive Spare Air alert requiring residents to cut pollution — longest stretch since program began in 1991.

previous streak was a 14-day alert issued in 2018 when Bay Area was choked by smoke from a fire that devastated town of Paradise and killed 85 people.

This time, strong winds from rth and rast pushed smoke from devastating wildfires in Oregon and Washington state into lower elevations, said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with National Wear Service Bay Area.

“ sheer amount of smoke, multiple layers of smoke above us in atmosphere are combining to darken our sky,” he said.

darkened skies also prevented California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, from doing some aerial inspections needed to restore power to about 167,000 customers because of poor visibility, said spokesman Jeff Smith. power was proactively cut Monday in an effort to prevent power line-sparked wildfires.

Air quality warnings were issued throughout Pacific rthwest, and people in communities from sourn Oregon to rth of Seattle have seen blood red skies and choking smoke.

“It was scary. Especially as red as sky was,” said Patricia Fouts, who evacuated from a senior living center due to a massive fire east of Salem, Oregon.

Gass said winds coming from Pacific Ocean will likely continue to push smoke across West, worsening air quality.

In Denver, a thick blanket of haze covered skyline Wednesday, obstructing mountain views typically visible from city. haze from fires across West, including a blaze in western Colorado that is largest in state history, led Colorado’s state health department to issue an air quality alert on Labor Day.

Scott Landes, chief air quality meteorologist for Colorado’s health department, said a cold front improved air quality bu said state may start getting a new wave of out-of-state smoke over weekend because of drier, warmer temperatures.

In Phoenix, skies were finally blue on Wednesday after a cold front swept through region, keeping wildfire smoke west and southwest of Arizona. In Re, Nevada, skies were also blue for first time in days after air quality reached hazardous level a day earlier, prompting Washoe County School District to cancel all in-classroom lessons.

smoky skies, which have also plagued Salt Lake City, Seattle and cities in Oregon, brought one silver lining that has filled social media feeds: Spectacular sunsets with a reddish-orange sun popping amid grainy skies.

“Everybody wants to kw, when is this going to get better,” Gass said. “We have to remember as long as fires keep burning y’re going to continue to produce smoke.”