Wildfire Smoke Casts Ominous Orange Glow Across Northern California

VACAVILLE (CBS13) — Northern Californians woke up to an apocalyptic scene outside on Wednesday – even those who are miles away from fire zones.

Driven by heavy winds, several fires exploded in size on Tuesday, including the North Complex Fire in the Plumas National Forest. That fire had already been burning since last month, but the wind even caused it to explode in size and prompt new evacuation orders.

So incredibly eerie in #Vacaville this morning. Keep our firefighters in your thoughts. 🙌🏼@CBSSacramento @GoodDaySac @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/gcv1JUQbTZ

— Dina Kupfer (@DinaKupfer) September 9, 2020

Wednesday morning, much of the north state woke up to an eerie dark orange glow.

In Vacaville, the sky was darkened by a thick cloud of smoke that made it feel more like sunset than sunrise. Officials stressed that no new fires had been reported in the Solano County area.

San Francisco, also far away from any of the new or rekindled fires, was also coated in a thick orange combination of smoke and fog on Wednesday morning.

Smoky conditions again today. See graphic below on forecast between this morning and this afternoon.#CAwx pic.twitter.com/7bqSA2f0Qi

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) September 9, 2020

Smoky conditions are expected to persist across Northern California on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas that were initially spared from smoke may see conditions worsen throughout the day, forecasters say.

Get the app: Download the CBS Sacramento News app for iOS and Android

The region has seen a record four-straight weeks of Spare the Air alerts. A Red Flag Warning for heightened fire danger also remains in effect on Wednesday.