San Francisco-based Rob Price has hiked in California’s Sierra Nevada many times while wildfire smoke was blown through the air.

But the thick, sooty air that choked Yosemite National Park on Saturday when he and his partner were backpacking was like nothing he had ever seen before.

“The sky turned the ugly color of a dark blotch, black and purple,” said Price. “It was raining ash. It felt completely apocalyptic.”

Price said when the smoke first swept into the park, the temperature dropped significantly.

“There were very gusty winds,” he said. “We only saw lightning strike, but heard a drumbeat from distant thunder.”

Apocalyptic skies – smoke, constantly falling ash, and a sickly orange sun – as we broke up on our hike and evacuated Wawona, Yosemite due to #CreekFire earlier this morning pic.twitter.com/N1Ywwakx3t

– Hannah Murphy (@MsHannahMurphy) September 7, 2020

Price’s story is just one of many reports that came from Yosemite on September 5th when angry wildfire sent clouds of smoke across the area about 40 miles south of the park.

“Apocalyptic skies – smoke, constantly falling ash and a sickly orange sun – when we stopped our hike today and evacuated Wawona, Yosemite because of the #CreekFire,” wrote one hiker on Twitter.

These reports symbolize a record-breaking wildfire season in California, in which more than 2 million acres have been burned since the beginning of the year. The fires have made outdoor recreation difficult in the state, known for its majestic mountains and emerald lakes, in a month when residents typically enjoy being outdoors. As of Tuesday, 22 California State Parks were completely closed and five partially closed due to forest fires. Yosemite National Park is open, but the southern part is under fire due to the creek fire.

The Creek Fire ignited Friday night in the Sierra National Forest near the Big Creek and Huntington Lake communities and raged on Saturday afternoon. It was moving so fast that campers were trapped around Mammoth Pool Campground and needed helicopter rescue.

The intense heat in the powerful updraft created an ominous cloud of smoke and ash known as the pyrocumulonimbus cloud.

“There was a much smaller fire on the Yosemite Park border, but it’s less than 1,000 ares,” said Daniel Harty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Hanford. “That probably made a little smoke, but the smoke from Creek Far stretched all the way into Yosemite.”

UPDATE: @NOAAs # GOES17

Measurements from NOAA satellite imagery revealed that the cloud of fire was reached at an altitude of more than 45,000 feet. Dr. Colin Seftor, an atmospheric researcher at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told NASA the cloud of fire was possibly the largest ever observed. The cloud reached more than 45,000 feet.

NASA calls pyrocumulonimbus “the fire-breathing dragon of the clouds” because they “direct their smoke like a chimney into the stratosphere of the earth”. These clouds often create their own weather and generate rain, hail and thunderstorms.

Harty said Saturday was too dry for the cloud of fire to produce rain, but there were reports of thunder and lightning.

Incredible #PyroCB (Pyrocumulonimbus) cloud created by the intense heat of the #CreekFire in California. The peaks occasionally reached heights of eight to nine miles, with updrafts strong enough to force overshoot peaks into the stratosphere. https://t.co/RPx0k8UTRP

– NWS Portland (@NWPortland) September 6, 2020

Price and his partner were on a two-day backpacking trip with a plan to hike 36 miles between Mono Meadows Trail Head and Red Peak. The trip was cut short when the smoke filled Yosemite. She and many others on the trail were confused and unsure where the wildfire that was creating the smoke was.

“One of the things we worried about was that the fire could have been between us and our car,” he said.

On Saturday at 3 p.m. they were at Upper Merced Lake packing up their gear. “The sky was so dark it was hard to see,” said Price, who is originally from the UK. “Ash swirled around the torch [flashlight]. It felt like the fire could have been just a few kilometers from us. “

They debated whether to wander deeper into Yosemite to escape the smoke or take the risk and get back to the car. Based on another hiker’s report that the road to Mono Meadows was open, they set out on their way back.

“It was pretty scary because we had this lack of information about where this fire was coming from and we didn’t know if we were going the right way or not,” he said. “The only alternative we had was to drive another 40 or 80 miles on the higher lake and risk the fire getting worse.”

After a 24 mile hike on Saturday, they arrived at Mono Meadows.

“The ashes burned our eyes, stuck to our skin and clothes,” he said. “I have never experienced something like that. Some of the pieces of ash ranged in size from tiny spots to the size of a fingernail.

He added, “There were several hours that were very stressful. In the end, the air didn’t feel safe to breathe, but we had to get out.”

MORE WILDFIRE COVERAGE:

Photos show the extent and destruction of forest fires in the Bay Area

‘Sad’: California’s oldest state park closed for at least a year due to forest fire damage

Will the evacuation of forest fires accelerate the spread of the coronavirus in the Bay Area?

California forest fires are now as big as the Grand Canyon

10 things to do when wildfire approaches your home

How to protect your pets from forest fire smoke

Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.

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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – A San Francisco home just sold for $ 2.1 million above its asking price after receiving 15 offers in 11 days.

177 Belgrave Avenue was listed at $ 3.5 million and sold for $ 5.6 million.

Another home in the Bay Area just sold for $ 1 million above asking price – and it won’t be the last

The home has been named a tree house in the sky by Compass brokers for “breathtaking city views from every room, expansive outdoor space, and unparalleled privacy”.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

This marked the first time the house had hit the market in 50 years. It was built in the 1970s and has only ever had one owner.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

It’s in San Francisco’s Cole Valley neighborhood, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that upon entering.

Here are the real reasons apartment renters are leaving

“If you showed this house to 100 people, I’d bet 99 of them wouldn’t believe it was in San Francisco, which is one of the reasons it’s got such high bids,” said Compass realtor Michael Bellings .

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

The outside of the house is what really brings out the adult treehouse vibe. There are direct paths from the house that connect you to a private back yard with a patio and veranda.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

The chef’s large kitchen has blue tiled worktops, open wooden shelves, a breakfast nook and a dining room.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

There are 3 charming bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and lots of space for entertaining.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

Views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen from almost every corner of the home.

Rental rates in the Bay Area continue to rise

At the same time, according to the listing, you are very remote and hidden from the street view.

Image credit: Aerial Canvas

“We were blown away by the offers and the final price,” said Aaron Bellings, Compass Agent. “It was already one of the highest-priced homes in Cole Valley, and that sale just set the new high watermark.”

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You may have spotted a mysterious string of lights lined up in a row on Thursday, moving like a train across the night sky.

Elon Musk is in charge of the show in the sky and tonight there will be a rerun that is even brighter.

Musk’s SpaceX company launched the Starlink satellites on May 4th – yes, Star Wars Day – from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Falcon 9 booster threw 60 Starlink satellites into the atmosphere.

The last forecast as of Friday 11:30 a.m. when the satellite train will first soar across the Bay Area skies is Friday 9:24 p.m. to 9:25 p.m. They are visible for about 5 minutes, according to the Heavens-Above website. There you can enter your location to determine when the satellites will pass in your area. (Note: the display may change slightly during the day.)

The page indicated that Starlink is almost right over your head tonight and is 10 to 15 times brighter than last night. The satellites will rise from the northwest and disappear into the shadow of the earth shortly after crossing the head to the southeast.

Here you can also check when the satellites are passing your area.

The Starlink train is particularly noticeable in the sky because, according to the company, it is “60 times closer to the earth than traditional satellites” and can provide communications services to remote, underserved areas.

According to the International Astronomical Union, the satellites can be made of reflective material when sunlight hits them in the hours just after sunset or before sunrise.

“They launch another 60 of them every few months,” said Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. “When they first launch them, they’re a small line of satellites that are close together and then they slowly separate from each other. People enjoy seeing these fairy lights, but astronomers just go crazy with light pollution They supposedly take them up into the atmosphere over time to make them less visible. “

The union and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have both raised concerns in the past that the satellites are too bright and are causing problems for astronomers.

“The organization generally welcomes the principle of dark and radio-silent skies as essential not only to improving our understanding of the universe we belong to, but also as a resource for all of humanity and to protect nighttime wildlife,” said the Union in a statement posted online. “We do not yet understand the effects of thousands of these visible satellites scattered across the night sky, and despite their good intentions, these satellite constellations can threaten both of them.”

McKeegan said the Starlink satellites, as well as other satellites, are disrupting their work at the Oakland Science Center.

“We have an asteroid search program in the middle that takes pictures of the sky to look for moving objects,” he said. “What happens is these satellites are drawing those white streaks across the image. It ruins the image. It was a little problem before, but it’s a much bigger problem with more and more satellites.”

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After months under California’s most restrictive COVID-19 guidelines, San Francisco entered what is known as the red tier this week, which means some businesses and services can reopen to the public for the first time since 2020.

A county’s ranking in the Tier system known as California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” is based on the seven-day average of its total COVID-19 cases and the positivity rate. Districts below the red step are allowed to reopen some non-essential businesses – such as bookstores, museums, and fitness centers – with limited capacity.

Since the announcement, aquariums and museums have slowly opened their doors. The Asian Art Museum reopened Thursday, and the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art plan to reopen this weekend.

A “Welcome Back” sign at Pier 39 in San Francisco on March 4, 2021 with new security measures due to COVID-19. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)

Here are some of the other companies that can reopen under red level restrictions:

• Clothing and shoe stores with a capacity of 50%
• Dance studios with 10% capacity
• Hair salons and barber shops can be opened with changes inside
• Libraries with a capacity of 50%
• Cinemas with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower
• Restaurants can open food indoors with a capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is lower

Check out the full list of what’s open and what’s not here.

Only a few days after the transition from the more restrictive purple to the red level, residents are using stores that have already reopened.

Guests will eat in a tent at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana restaurant in San Francisco on March 3, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Jorge Arreola disinfects a table at Pier Market after the restaurant reopened for indoor dining on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
The Espinosa family at the Aquarium of the Bay at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
A sea otter swims at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Helen Yool on March 4, 2021 at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Ariel Mestayer-Orallo is taking a passenger’s temperature at the SkyStar Observation Wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021 on the first day of reopening as San Francisco steps into the red row. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
A passenger rides a gondola on the SkyStar observation wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021, the first day of its reopening when San Francisco enters the red row. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
View from the SkyStar observation wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)

The post Eating, Sky Rides and Otters: What San Francisco’s (Sluggish) Reopening Appeared Like This Week appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.