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Orange Skies Day

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2020 San Francisco Orange Skies Day
Smoke from the North Complex Fire mixed with fog to create an orange hue in the sky
DateSeptember 9, 2020 (2020-09-09)
LocationBay 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]

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

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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

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Around 16–19 September, the smoke from the fires reached as far as the Swedish west coast, where it tinted the sunsets orange.[9] 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]

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View from San Francisco, looking westbound over Portola Drive towards the Pacific Ocean.

See also

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References

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  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.

Further reading

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  • Pyne, Stephen J. California: A Fire Survey (2016) online
  • Safford, Hugh D., et al. "Fire ecology of the North American Mediterranean-climate zone." in Fire ecology and management: Past, present, and future of US forested ecosystems (2021): 337-392. re California and its neighbors online
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