Orange Skies Day was a climatological event that occurred in the
San Francisco Bay Area on September 9, 2020. Temperatures varied in different places, but the sky was overall orange.[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
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]
Responses
Public officials, such as former-President
Barack Obama, attributed the event to
climate change.[8] 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."[9]
In popular culture, the day was compared to the films Blade Runner 2049 and Dune.[10][11] 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.[12]
^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.
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