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The massive wildfires currently making their way through California may seem like a distant event, but smoke from the damaging blaze has managed to spread 3,000 miles to New York.
The National Weather Service has released an updated forecast model that shows just how massive the natural disaster has become, with smoke being picked up by wind and carried all the way across the country. In fact, some smoke has even managed to blow past the East Coast out into the Atlantic Ocean.
As Northern California continues to burn, huge wildfire breaks out in Lake Elsinore in SoCal. https://t.co/HBKfmN5jvF pic.twitter.com/pQq6eGsrqv
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) August 10, 2018
Since the relentless blaze began on July 23, over 1,077 homes, 22 commercial structures and 500 other buildings have been destroyed. The Mendocino Complex fire in Northern California is now considered the largest in the state’s history and is only consider 60 percent contained according to officials. Two firefighters have been injured battling the fires, but no fatalities have yet been reported.
Firefighters in California may be currently battling an especially epic wildfire, but this is actually not the first time that smoke from the West Coast has made it all the way to NYC. Last September, smoke stretched across the entire country as well.
Don’t expect to walk outside and see black wisps curling through the air, however. The smoke is currently a mile above the surface, and when it’s that high above the ground, the health risks are minimal.
These pictures reveal California’s largest-ever wildfire https://t.co/pDjvnFRty0 pic.twitter.com/hrAgnsUpA8
— Bloomberg (@business) August 9, 2018
Fire and smoke juxtaposed with tropical storms in today's #GOESEast West Coast view. The smoke from the California #wildfires is impacting air quality throughout the region. More imagery: https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI pic.twitter.com/I7qIUMzYuP
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 9, 2018