Smoke from the forest fires in California left the city of San Francisco in near darkness on Wednesday due to smoke from forest fires, which gave the sky an orange hue.

On Europe 1, two French people who live in the city on the west coast of the United States testify. 

San Francisco and other parts of the west coast of the United States woke up to dark orange skies worthy of an apocalypse scene on Wednesday, amid smoke from the fires that continue to ravage California.

The mixture of fog and smoke gave the city a surreal feel as if the sun had not risen all day.

Walking through the streets of San Francisco around noon - headlights on - you could see locals working on their computers by the light of their lamps, to see clearly in the glowing darkness.

Other crazy photos, taken by a French inhabitant of San Francisco.

pic.twitter.com/UcJbVzvFcY

- Xavier Yvon (@xavieryvon) September 9, 2020

A sky that looks like "what happens during a total eclipse"

Arthur, researcher in biology, and Audrey, teacher, are two French who live in the city.

"The atmosphere is quite apocalyptic", they told the microphone of Europe 1. The sky, red-orange, looks "like what happens during a total eclipse, except that it lasts since daybreak", explained Arthur.

"No doubt I watch too many movies, but I expect to see a monster or a zombie appear in the streets at any time." 

© Philip Pacheco / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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"It gives the feeling either that it's 9 p.m. or that it's five in the morning"

As a result of this opaque sky, the sun's rays did not pass.

Despite the warm colors, it was very cool in the afternoon in San Francisco.

“All the lights were on,” continues Audrey.

At his school, the class photo, scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled.

"The children didn't necessarily want to go outside to play because you can't see anything at all. It gives the feeling that it's either 9 p.m. or 5 a.m.," she said. . 

© BRITTANY HOSEA-SMALL / AFP

Fires ravage the West Coast

More than two dozen fires raged across California, and nearly a thousand firefighters battled the blaze dubbed Creek Fire in the upstate Fresno area, which spread to more than 56,000 hectares.

The outbreaks extended from the border with Canada, in Washington state, to the Mexican border, near San Diego (California), where nearly 7,000 hectares went up in smoke, according to local authorities.