The air was dangerous everywhere in the Bay Area Wednesday but Contra Costa County may have been getting hit the hardest.
The smoke that cast an orange and gray blanket over the East Bay hovered and then enveloped cities, towns and homes.
“I think I woke up at 7 a.m. but it felt like it was still 4 a.m. because it was completely dark,” said Sara Morales from Pittsburg. “And once I took a look outside the window, I just saw some ash and it was kind of orangey.”
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) said conditions only got worse as the day went on.
“The thing to remember about wildfire smoke is it’s really unpredictable and it can really drop down,” said Kristine Roselius from BAAQMD. “You can see the marine layer collapse and that smoke come down with it.”
People in Concord tried to sum up just how bizarre it all was.
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“I was waiting to see the zombies come walking down the street actually. Looks a little apocalyptic, a little frightening,” said resident Lovejoy Bocel.
Some said they try to remember that the smoke is nothing compared to what those closer to the fires are facing.
“I‘m more thinking about people losing their houses somewhere, you know? Burned out. That’s troubling,” said Russel Rossberg from Concord.
Still, health problems are a concern. Air quality officials say a lot depends on how the weather speeds up or slows down that progress.
“I thought I saw the end of the world. Straight up. ‘the sky is falling,’ you know. It’s like creepy .. Very unusual,” said Tina Marie Jensen from Concord.
