‘Like something out of apocalypse’
A NATIVE of Wicklow town residing over in San Francisco has described the eerie atmosphere as raging Californian wildfires cloak the city in a smoky orange hue.
Daragh O’Sullivan has lived in San Francisco for the past four years, having formerly worked at Wicklow Golf Club. He was also a star performer for St Patrick’s GAA Club and captained them to the 2012 Wicklow Senior Football Championship.
Blazes have been consuming large parts of California, Oregon and Washington, and are predicted to worsen this week.
Two giant fires broke out nearer San Francisco that were believed to have been ignited by lightning four weeks ago.
The fires have resulted in a ghostly orange fog descending on San Francisco and hanging over the city.
Daragh says: ‘It’s like something out of the apocalypse. It’s pretty scary looking, though this isn’t the first time we have experienced something similar. You have a big fiery looking sky.
‘Even at 11.30 a.m. in the morning you can’t really see anything. It’s like it was midnight. There is a terrible smell of smoke in the air and you can’t stay outside for very long before it starts to overwhelm you.
‘Everyone is wearing Covid masks anyway, but the smell of the smoke means you would have to wear a mask, even if there was no Covid.
‘ The fires are surrounding us but San Francisco is pretty safe. It’s like a micro-climate so it’s not as hot in San Francisco as its surrounding areas. There could be 15 degrees Celsius in the difference. It’s all very spooky and weird but people just get on with their lives.’
Daragh has already experienced something similar in 2018 when the wildfire season turned out to be the deadliest and most destructive ever recorded in California history.
‘It’s happened before so people are wise to it. It is almost becoming the norm now. With global warming we have noticed a real increase in the number of wildfires breaking out.’
He has particular sympathy for the people directly involved, with thousands already evacuated from their homes.
The devastation to wildlife caught up in the fires and killed is expected to reach unprecedented numbers.
‘It’s crazy for the people involved who have to get evacuated. People aren’t meant to be in large groups due to Covid, which makes the evacuations even more difficult.
‘ There are over three million acres burning, which gives you some idea of the devastation that will be caused. It’s crazy times. There have already been a number of fatalities and thousands of people will lose their homes.
‘It’s all very sad. Wildlife in those areas has been totally decimated. The winds are bad as well, which is casing the fire to spread. It will continue burning for weeks, possibly even months.’