We live in a suburb about 35 miles east of San Francisco. There are no sidewalks or streetlights where we live, so when I walk our dog at night, I wear a headlamp similar to the one shown in the picture above. Otherwise, it would be pitch black outside.
Last night at around nine o’clock I took our dog out for a walk. When we stepped outside, I turned on my headlamp and was surprised to see what looked almost like tiny little snowflakes falling, which it obviously wasn’t because it was around 80 degrees at the time.
Using my keen deductive reasoning and intuitive skills, I concluded that what I saw reflected in my headlamp were tiny bits of floating ash from all of the wildfires ravaging Northern California. It was weird.
But this morning is even weirder. It’s just past ten in the morning and it’s like twilight outside. The sky has this eerie yellow/orange cast to it. I just took this photo while standing at my front door looking across the street.
This photo is not altered. That’s what the sky looks like. And, of course, the air quality index shows hazardous air.
I think I’ll just go back to bed.
Man that is totally surreal.
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Unfortunately it’s not only surreal, but it’s actually real.
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😟
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Its the same here for night dog walking, no lights or nothing. The ashes must have been as terrifyinf as that fire sky though. All those poor creature losing their homes and lives and the invaluable trees lost again so sad.
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It’s terribly sad for man and beast alike.
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Well we can afford to lose a few million more people. We need to. But the trees and animals are at a dangerous low already.
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It is much the same up here, I live 40 minutes from a farming city that 80 % of it burned to the ground. So many of my friends have had to vacate because of various fires in the surrounding areas of Spokane. My husband works for a construction company that takes on restoration construction. He had to drive to Malden, and he said it was just charcoal. Hardly anything left. His company will be taking on many of these areas hit so hard. From here to Seattle is a nightmare. I too have family that has had to vacate in California. Ashes, and crazy skies. It is all so sad! Blessings Lisa
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80%? Wow, what a tragedy. Mother Nature is sending us a message.
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Yes 80% it is a farming community. Hardly any buildings were left. The fire came in 3 different directions. It is a sad story for that community. They have a lot of history in the outskirts of Spokane where I reside. Watching the news was a hard one. There was a church that did not burn next to massive charcoal remnants. It still stands, and is as white as can be. I cried when I saw that. I found great significance in the beauty of that. The front had some melting, but it was a place that still stands.
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Oh God! Unreal!
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It feels unreal, but it’s real.
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Wow! Yeah.
Be careful.
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Isn’t this how every Sci-Fi dystopian book begins? And epidemic and the burning of half a continent?
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If I were a religious person, which I’m not, I’d say this resembles what I’d envision to be the biblical End Times.
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So frightening. Stay safe.
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Scary.
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My sky in Southern California is a pale orange for the same reason, fires. When I went outside, moments before sunrise I was shocked at the color of the air. So very sad.
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The Grateful Dead sang, “Ashes, ashes we all fall down” in their song Throwing Stones.
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For the last three years we’ve been seeing this in Washington State. It’s just awful and depressing. Worse, someone I know is on Facebook with her brother flogging the theory that the fires we’ve had here ‘ have never happened like this before’ THEY HAVE BEEN and that they think it’s ” The Rioters( read, BLM and Protestors ) who are setting them on purpose. We actually know how the fires here started. I quit the human race.
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This is what Trump has done to our country.
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Yes, horrible. My daughter sent me a pic from Alameda. Try not to breathe!
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I wear a mask outside, but I feel bad for my old dog when I walk her.
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We’re about 12 miles east of the City. The room I’m sitting in is dark and I am writing by the strange orange glow from the sky. The cat has gone into permanent hiding somewhere… Take care.
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It’s creepy out there.
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How close are you to the fires? That looks scary.
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They’re not in the immediate area of any wildfires, but they’re all around us.
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Oh no! It’s like what people experienced in Austrailia. These fires are awful awful. I hope you all stay safe!!
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Thanks. I hope so, too, but it depends upon which way the winds blow — literally.
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I feel for you, seen these skies a few times. Do you have an evac plan? the dog/cat carriers ready by the front door? A cellar with an air filter?
I may not be religious, but I send the best I can for your safety.
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We do have a plan if we have to evacuate. No cellar but we have a filter for our HVAC unit. The scary thing is that fire season around here is far from over.
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It is a horrible eerie feeling. I know from personal experience. Don’t spend too much time outside, the air quality must be very bad. If you get an evac order go early. We oldies can’t defend our homes from this kind of fire, we just have to think of our loved ones and pets.
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At least you should stay inside.
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I do, except when I have to walk our dog.
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Wear an N95. It can filter out the worst of the pollution
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I do. But I don’t have one for my dog.
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Must be tough for her.
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How ominous, Fandango. Is there a way you can get away from that for a bit? It can’t be good to breathe in. If you and your family need a place, bring your stuff here to MI. I’ll make room for you all.
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Thanks for the offer, Li. Well try to stick it out here unless (or until?) the wildfires get too close.
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You are very welcome. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be looking out at snow of ashes and an orange sky. The offer remains open-ended just so you know.
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Oh dear, this is awful, I hope you are able to stay safe.
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Thanks, Irene. So far none of the wildfires have gotten that close to where we live. Hopefully it will stay that way.
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Be ready to go if you have to. Make sure you and your family are safe.
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Thanks. We’re ready if we have to evacuate.
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👍
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This is such a sad, sad thing that is going on over in the west. I can’t even imagine. We were watching the news last night and they were saying people had to drive with high beams on just to see. The air looks so congested. They said 6 states are battling fires. It is strange when it rained here last night or snowed yesterday in Colorado. I cannot even begin to imagine how this feels right now.
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I thought I had read it was going to snow (or that it was predicted) in Colorado. Thank you for the confirmation. I like snow. I like rain, too. On the same day, the weather where I am significantly changed likewise (although not with snow or rain even while the sky was overcast), with a turn toward leaving summer. I realized, with surprise, that I wasn’t yet ready for the seasonal change — which is unusual in that I always welcome each new season. But boy do I have it good. When I think of the fires in six states and fracking earthquakes in a few and hurricanes in many and so much else, I decide against the possibility of moving. Still, the troubles others are going through are so sad. Especially the destruction of nature. And the chasing scare tactics of fire. I happened upon pictures of the firy orange on a channel I don’t usually tune into; it stopped me in my tracks.
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I pray that all this stops before too many more lives are lost. Material things, although heartbreaking sometimes, can be replaced.
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It doesn’t feel very good, but at least the temperatures have moderated.
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Stay safe Fandango!
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