Smoke from large-scale fires that are spreading in the western United States has become visible even from a distance of 1.5 million
NASA EPIC polychromatic camera took a picturesmoke, which shows a huge gray-brown spot hovering over the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast. The researchers note that this spot is increasing in size.
The EPIC camera is installed on board the spaceClimate Observatory (DSCOVR) of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is in the orbit of the Sun in a gravitationally stable place at a distance of 1.5 million km from the Earth.
In the US state of California, forest fires are not abating. The death toll increased to nineteen people, dozens of people were injured. California Governor Gavin Newsom called bushfires "deadly" and urged residents to seek refuge in other, safer areas. Forest fires were caused by nearly 12,000 lightning strikes on dry terrain.
The state of California in the past few weekssuffered from the worst drought in nearly two decades. Thousands of lightning strikes triggered fires that broke out from the dried grass. About 175,000 residents of the state were relocated to other homes. In Santa Cruz, a city of about 65,000 people on California's central coast, authorities have advised local residents to prepare "emergency bags" in case of immediate evacuation.
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