Smoke From West Coast Wildfires Arrives in New York City and Washington DC

The smoke from deadly wildfires that have burned for weeks on the West Coast has settled on the other side of the country, hanging over cities as far east as New York City and Washington, D.C. 

More than 4 million acres have burned across ten states ranging from the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as haunting images of orange skies in San Francisco and smoke-laden streets in Portland flood headline news. But the smoke is so intense from the western part of the country, that haze has ventured all the way to the Atlantic seaboard including the Big Apple and the nation’s capital.


Like the Dust Bowl, the wildfires have been exacerbated by drought conditions on the West Coast, which have combined with more than a century of fire suppression to give the roaring flames an almost infinite amount of forest fuel.

Scientists have pointed out that the lack of controlled burn in heavily wooded areas where there is drought has led to the stunning level of devastation. Environmental groups and Democrat politicians have advocated against logging and controlled burns for decades, saying that wildlife habitats and endangered species were at risk.