Apocalypse skies in San Francisco due to historic fires

Steph Deschamps / September 10, 2020

San Francisco and other parts of the west coast of the United States woke to dark orange skies worthy of an apocalypse scene on Wednesday, amid smoke from the fires that continue to ravage California.

At midday, the mixture of fog and smoke gave the city a surreal atmosphere as if the sun had still not risen.

"Forest fire haze is darkening the skies across San Francisco Bay," authorities said. They have been providing daily information for weeks on air quality, and regularly advise vulnerable people not to go out.

More than two dozen fires raged in California, and nearly a thousand firefighters battled the blaze dubbed Creek Fire in the upstate Fresno area, which has spread to more than 56,000 hectares. The outbreaks stretched from the border with Canada in Washington State to the Mexican border near San Diego, California, where nearly 7,000 hectares went up in smoke, according to local authorities.

As you walked the streets of San Francisco during the day, you could see locals working on their computers by the light of their lamps, only to see clearly in the glowing darkness.

Surprisingly, after many days of smelling smoke and ash, the atmosphere seemed breathable