San Francisco found itself bathed in an eerie orange glow on Wednesday (9 September) after a plume of smoke from the wildfires raging in California descended on the city.
The entire sky turned orange as strong winds blew smoke and ash from blazes that are raging across the state into San Francisco.
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Residents of San Francisco and the surrounding areas woke up to apocalyptic skies, so dark some thought it was still night.
"It feels like the end of the world," Catherine Geeslin told the San Francisco Chronicle.
"It was alarming to see it's still dark. And it will be strange to have lunch in the dark. But you still have to get on with your day."
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People posed for photos in front of a barely visible Golden Gate Bridge, while smoke obscured the sky over Oracle Park as the Seattle Mariners prepared for their baseball game against the San Francisco Giants.
The wildfires have burned more than 2.5 million acres in the state this year and killed at least eight people.
Last week, there was a ray of hope for one couple in California after they managed to find their wedding rings in the ashes of their home, which had been burnt to the ground by wildfires.
Last Wednesday, Jason and Chloe Caroll had been forced to flee their house in Vacaville, located northeast of San Francisco, as 'flames taller than trees' tore towards them.
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Chloe told KCRA: "It looked like a tornado of flames. I have just never seen something move so fast."
As the fires moved closer, the couple and their two sons evacuated - knowing they had to leave behind most of their belongings, including some of immense sentimental value.
Realising they'd left their wedding rings in a wicker basket in the bathroom, Jason and Chloe tried to drive back to the house - which has been in Chloe's family for more than 35 years - only to find it was too late. Chloe recalled: "I just watched it all burning down.
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"I just thought of everything: my kids' ultrasound photos, my kids' footprints from their birth."
It wasn't until 48 hours later that Jason and Chloe were able to return to the property, arriving to see it had become a mound of rubble and ash.
Jason presumed if they ever found the rings they would be 'melted to nothing', with Chloe adding: "I thought for sure they'd be gone. I thought they'd be melted."
However, Chloe's aunt Denise stepped in to help sift through the ashes, and within just half an hour she'd miraculously managed to find the rings - completely intact - right where the bathroom had been.
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Understandably, Jason and Chloe were delighted by the find, saying the rings will provide some 'hope' for the future after the devastation of losing their home.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images