Orange Skies Day

Last updated

2020 San Francisco Orange Skies Day
North Complex smoke in San Francisco - Financial District.jpg
Smoke from the North Complex Fire mixed with fog to create an orange hue in the sky
DateSeptember 9, 2020 (2020-09-09)
Location Bay Area, California, United States
CauseSmoke from the North Complex Fire

Orange Skies Day was a climatological event that occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area on September 9, 2020. [1] [2]

Contents

The orange-colored hue in the sky was the result of smoke from the North Complex Fire (including the Bear Fire) and more than 20 other wildfires, which burned more than 2 million acres east of the San Francisco Bay Area. [3] This smoke scattered blue light wavelengths, which only allowed warmer colors to reach the Earth's surface. [4]

September 9, 2020

On the morning of September 9, 2020, the sun failed to appear. As a result, light-sensitive bridge and street lights remained alight the entire day, and drivers were recommended to keep their headlights on all day. [5] Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, wrote that the smoke was "almost completely blocking out the sun across some portions of Northern California." [6] In a tweet, the San Francisco Fire Department stated, "We know the smoke, darkness and orange glow is scary. It is going to get better." [7]

The San Francisco Giants played against the Seattle Mariners under the orange skies [8] as part of the 2020 San Francisco Giants season. The air quality on the ground was 90, so the game scheduled for that day took place as planned.

Responses

Around 16-19 September, the smoke from the fires reached as far as the Swedish west coast, where it tinted the sunsets orange. Photo of the sky looking out over the Atlantic from Lysekil, Sweden. Smoke from the 2020 California wildfires tinting the sunset red on the Swedish west coast 3.jpg
Around 16–19 September, the smoke from the fires reached as far as the Swedish west coast, where it tinted the sunsets orange. Photo of the sky looking out over the Atlantic from Lysekil, Sweden.

Public officials, such as former-President Barack Obama, attributed the event to climate change. [10] California Governor Gavin Newsom stated, "I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers. It's completely inconsistent, that point of view, with the reality on the ground." [11]

In popular culture, the day was compared to the films Blade Runner 2049 and Dune . [12] [13] In 2022, a theatrical concept album by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company titled "The Day the Sky Turned Orange" was performed at the New Roots Theatre Festival. [14]

View from San Francisco, looking westbound over Portola Drive towards the Pacific Ocean. Northercomplexfire-2020-fromsf.jpg
View from San Francisco, looking westbound over Portola Drive towards the Pacific Ocean.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter. "The orange skies have faded. But Orange Skies Day is forever". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Rexroat, Kelsey (April 20, 2021). "The Day the San Francisco Sky Turned Orange". New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  3. ↑ Fuller, Thomas (September 9, 2020). "Wildfires Blot Out Sun in the Bay Area". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Remembering the day smoke-choked skies cast an eerie dark orange glow over Bay Area". CBS News. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  5. ↑ Paul, Kari (September 9, 2020). "'Good morning, hell': Californians awake to apocalyptic skies as wildfires rage". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Surreal orange skies as wildfire smoke blocks sun in Bay Area". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  7. ↑ "California wildfires cast 'scary' orange glow over San Francisco". DW. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  8. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Play Under Eerie Orange Skies as Deadly Wildfires Sweep the West Coast". September 9, 2020.
  9. ↑ Clason, Sofia (September 16, 2020). "Bilderna visar: Röken sveper in över Sverige". Expressen . Expressen . Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  10. ↑ Jain, Sanya. "Barack Obama Shares Pics Of Orange Skies Amid West Coast Fires". NDTV. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Ominous orange sky gives San Francisco apocalyptic tint". Times of India. September 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Joanna. "Under San Francisco's Orange Skies, Adjusting to an Unnerving New Normal". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ Holder, Sara (September 10, 2020). "The Day the Sky Turned Orange". Bloomberg. City Labs. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ Janiak, Lily. "We all remember orange sky day. Now it's a theatrical concept album". Datebook. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.

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