This is ash from the fires collecting in the parking lot of my office. This covering was everywhere in San Diego.
Contrasting skies over Torrey Ridge by my work. Smoke from the fires is on the right.
Looking at the smoke from the fires.
A thick layer a smoke from the fires moves from east to west over San Diego (left to right)
Smoke from the fires hanging over the city of San Diego. I live about 5 miles south of this picture (further into the smoke).
Freeway sign reads "Fire East 52 Closed at 15." The 52 & 15 freeways were closed on Sunday. The 52 freeway goes right by my house.
Heading east on the 52 freeway, about 4 miles from my house. Those are not clouds, the grey/black is smoke. Light ash from the fires was raining as well. Road Runner sports store is on the right of the picture.
San Diego: looking out over Miramar landfill & Marine Air Station. More smoke. This picture is about 4 miles from my house, and there was some minor charing here. This is where the fire suddenly stopped on Sunday as the winds gusting up to 50 mph died. The flames were advancing at about 10-20 mph, and moving in an errant pattern, similar to a tornado.
Smoke from the fires covers the San Diego skyline, looking east.
The San Diego sun at 4pm. There was so much particulate matter in the sky that it turned an orange-red color
Heading north on the 15 freeway. The firestorm jumped east to west over this 8 lane freeway, and stopped about a few miles to the west (left) of this picture.
Devastation at Scripps Ranch (a neighborhood of San Diego), which lost over 300 homes. The neighborhood is in the smoke. The foreground is the Miramar military base.
More burned areas from the firestorm. The slight hill is the freeway offramp.
A fighter plane lands at Miramar airfield towards a smoke choked sun.
The firestorm only burned part of this small tree. Everything else around was burned.
Smoke from the fires blows west (left) from Scripps Ranch by the 15 freeway.
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A video of the fire devestation by Scripps Ranch, about 8 miles from my house.
Ash covers everything in San Diego, and sticks to cars. The ash stayed for about a week, continually blowing and making everything smell like smoke. The smell of a barbeque still turns my stomach.
Looking east over Miramar in San Diego. The fire ignored this sign, and jumped over the freeway, moving west at about 20 miles per hour. My roommates and friends who live in the area watched the progress of fire with disbelief. They all thought, in no uncertain terms, that the fire would eventually reach our neighborhood. The news reported that there was nothing the fire crews could do. The fire was burning where it wanted, was not contained at all, could not be controlled, and was moving 100 foot high walls of flame at 10-20 mph.
The sun sets over San Diego. This picture is from along the 52 freeway, and is taken from the fire's western-most advance. About 4 miles from my house.
A stunning California sunset, augmented by so much devastation.
Ash gathering in a parking spot I use by my house. Ash in the air is caught by the flash. On Sunday the smoke from the fire made the sky so dark that lights had to be turned on in the middle of the day. We had to turn the lights on again Tuesday, as the ash became thick again.
Tuesday, outside of the house where I live. Ash covers the ground, the grass, the plants... everything. I breathe slowly through my mouth, as the smell of smoke fills everything in San Diego.
Smoke from the fires looks like fog in my neighborhood, and the sky is darkened. As I walked down the sidewalk, ash flew out from underneath my footfalls, just as a light snow moves about. Tiretracks are visible in the ash.
The afternoon sun tries to shine through the smoke.
The reflection of the sun on the windshield of my VW Golf. You can see ash on the windshield and hood.
Another view of the Mars-looking sun on my VW Golf. Ash is visibile throughout the picture.
Looking up at the sun shining through the clouds, taken from inside my car. I loved being in my car during the fires, as the air conditioning and filters cleaned out the air. Everywhere else, houses, stores, offices, all smelled like smoke.
Another picture of the sun, looking more like Mars. It's in the middle of the afternoon.
The smoke is so thick now that the sun in San Diego is fully blocked, and clouds appear lit. The fires rage on, and will not be contained for another several weeks.
The smoke somehow gets thicker, and the San Diego sky gets darker. The sun is now gone, and a strange feeling comes over the city. This is looking east towards the fires.
More pictures taken while driving, as the sky remains dark.
The sun makes a valiant attempt to shine through the clouds.
Another picture of my block. The flash illuminates ash in the air.
The same picture of my street, but with the flash turned off.
The extent of the fires in Southern California on Monday. Red indicates areas that were burned on Sunday. I live at the green X at the bottom of the map, about 4 miles from the advance of the fires on Sunday. My fiance Jen lives in Santa Monica, at the green X in the upper left of the map.
This is a panorama facing south over the Miramar military base, with the 15 freeway that the fire jumped.
This is a panorama of looking north at the Scripps Ranch area.
This is a panorama of the skyline, showing the darkness of the smoke.