Orange Skies Day

Temperatures varied in different places, but the sky was overall orange.

2020 San Francisco Orange Skies Day

Smoke from the North Complex Fire mixed with fog to create an orange hue in the sky
Date	September 9, 2020 (2020-09-09)
Location	Bay Area, California, United States
Cause	Smoke from the North Complex Fire

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. This smoke scattered blue light wavelengths, which only allowed warmer colors to reach the Earth's surface.

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. Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, wrote that the smoke was "almost completely blocking out the sun across some portions of Northern California." 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."

Public officials, such as former-President Barack Obama, attributed the event to climate change. 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."

In popular culture, the day was compared to the films Blade Runner 2049 and Dune. 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.

• New England's Dark Day (1780)
• Chinchaga Fire (1950, Canada)
• 2023 Canadian wildfires