Californians awake to apocalyptic skies as wildfires rage

The Guardian 9 September 2020

People in the San Francisco Bay Area and across California awoke on Wednesday morning to an eerie scene of darkened, orange-hued skies and ash raining down as historic wildfires rage across the state. 

The apocalyptic skies are due to light being filtered through smoke from California’s worst fire season on record, according to a regional air pollution control organization the Bay Area Air District.

“These smoke particles scatter blue light and only allow yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface, causing skies to look orange,” the Bay Area Air District said on Twitter.

Residents of the Bay Area reported oversleeping because the sky was so dark. Local police forces recommended drivers keep headlights on all day and bridges and street lights remained alight as the sun failed to appear this morning.

Surreal images of blood orange skyline flooded social media on Wednesday.

More than 2.5 million acres have been burned across the Pacific Northwest

Katu September, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. – Strong wind and hot, dry conditions are making for critical fire conditions across the Pacific Northwest.

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management says there are more than 480 active fires across the state, adding that more than 2.5 million acres have been burned. Governor Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act Tuesday afternoon.

Several fast-moving fires prompted evacuation orders in communities across Oregon and Southwest Washington overnight Monday and into Tuesday.

California is Burning

Worst wilfires in chile's history

By Jorge Poblete   January 27 2017

Chile’s worst ever wildfires threatened the city of Concepcion and the nation’s wine industry Friday, a day after flames destroyed a town about 200 miles south of the nation’s capital.

President Michelle Bachelet’s office said the fires had killed 11 people, forced the evacuation of more than 5,000 and burned nearly 900,000 acres, mainly forests.

Most of the evacuees come from the town of Santa Olga, southwest of Santiago, which was destroyed Thursday. 

“We are facing a serious situation and can only succeed if we work together,” Bachelet told reporters Friday morning after coordinating relief efforts at a meeting at the La Moneda presidential palace. Earlier in the week, Bachelet said the fires were the worst in the country’s history.

The government said Friday that as many as 65 separate fires continued to burn out of control. 

Felipe Neira, president of Itata Valley winemakers association, said in a telephone interview that the industry, which is mostly concentrated in central Chile, so far had had lost about 100 acres of vineyards to the fires but that 1,250 acres were in jeopardy.       LATimes