​People In California And Oregon Describe ‘Apocalyptic’ Scenes Amid Wildfires

Residents in California and Oregon are sharing their experiences of 'apocalyptic' scenes as the wildfires continue to blaze through areas of the American West Coast.

While some regions remain untouched by the flames, smoke from the wildfires has cast an eerily dark, orangey haze over many cities, including San Francisco.

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Explaining what was going on, the Bay Area Air Quality District tweeted yesterday: "The orange skies this morning are a result of wildfire smoke in the air. Strong winds over the past few days transported ash from fires in northern California and the Sierra Nevada into the region.

"These smoke particles scatter blue light & only allow yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface, causing skies to look orange. If smoke becomes too thick in a certain area, most of the light will be scattered & absorbed before reaching the surface, which may cause dark skies."

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Catherine Geeslin told the San Francisco Chronicle: "It feels like the end of the world, or like Mordor."

She added: "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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Leah Lozano, a barista who works at a coffee shop on San Francisco's West Portal Avenue, added: "Pretty much all the customers have the apocalypse on their mind. It's a metaphor for our current plight."

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Locals have taken to Twitter to describe what was happening and what they could see, with many saying it felt like the end of times.

One said: "Apocalypse now type setup in bay area, California. This is unreal."

Someone else wrote: "Oh wow it looks like the coming of the actual apocalypse outside (it's noon, no filter) Yes California is still burning. Whoever invented gender reveal parties should now yeet themselves to space."

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Writer Andrew Leonard tweeted a piece called 'Darkness at Noon', saying in the post's caption: "The day started out an uncanny orange and then got progressively darker. Dawn? I guess we don't do dawn anymore in California."

There have been similar scenes in Oregon, which sits just to the right of California, with one tweeting: "It looks like the freaking apocalypse outside. Only the total solar eclipse from a few years ago up in Oregon beats this weirdness."

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said on Wednesday that hundreds of homes have been lost as the growing wildfires - fuelled by strong winds - have 'substantially destroyed' sections of several communities.

"This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state's history," Brown said.

Topics: News, US News, california

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman