WILDFIRES

Wildfires have been burning from Alaska to Greece this month - are they becoming more common?

The Wildlife Trust is advising people to take picnics instead of BBQs as temperatures are due to rise.

Wildfires are devastating communities across the country.

Hazy, hot and breezy weather is on tap Friday

Most of the area will see high temperatures in the low to mid 90s Wednesday afternoon

Spotty storms likely won't be enough to completely get rid of the smoky haze this weekend

Air quality continues to be poor for the southern half of the area Thursday

Wildfire smoke leads to hazy sunshine for most of the week, especially Wednesday.

Smoke from fires in the western United States have burned over 1.2 million acres, and according to the National Interagency Fire Center, over 19,000 firefighters and support workers have been deployed to handle the blaze.

Smoke filters out the sunlight, giving it a distinct orange and red appearance

Temperatures continue to rise despite an increase in haze through at least Wednesday

Smoke from wildfires burning in western states is hurting air quality across Colorado.

Smoke scatters sunlight, leading to a red-orange sunrise and sunset in our area

The dryness, unseasonable warmth and a breeze will keep the fire risk high Thursday. In addition to that, there is a statewide burn ban in place from Midnight to 4 p.m. each day until the end of April. Fire Weather Watch for Thursday, 3/11/2021Outside of that, Thursday will be another beautiful day to spend outside. High temperature forecast for 3/11/2021Enjoy that, because wet weather will return for some of us Friday. Stay tuned for updates, as the pattern turns wet at times throughout next week.

That said, the smoke from a wildfire in Colorado traveled cross country over the weekend and had a different (to some, more uplifting) effect on our sky. The sun’s light travels at different wavelengths, which corresponds to a different color. When the sun gets lower, its light travels through more of the earth’s atmosphere. This filters out the shorter wavelengths and exposes different colors such as orange and red. This adds to the red, orange, pink and purples that you see at that hour.

Storms and wildfires rage in the same satellite photo snapped by NASA's Aqua satellite. A satellite spotted several tropical storms and dozens of wildfires ravaging the United States together in one image. NASA's Aqua satellite captured six tropical storms and more than 100 different U.S. wildfires in a single photo snapped on Tuesday (Sept. 15). In the Atlantic, on the right of the image, are several other tropical storms. In the lower right-hand corner of the image, you can see Hurricane Teddy, swirling east of the Leeward Islands.

"A Climate In Crisis" explores wildfires, hurricanes and the science behind them The CBSN special ""A Climate In Crisis"" explores how climate change is impacting wildfires, hurricanes and other extreme weather events around the world. Lana Zak and CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli talk science and policy with bioclimatologist Park Williams, former climate skeptic Jerry Taylor and Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash.

ROANOKE, Va. – As we wrote about Tuesday, smoke from the wildfires out west made its way to our sky. This, thankfully, has not had a negative impact on our health or air quality. It is, however, creating more haze in the sky and preventing us from heating up much. The smoke particles are also enough to block out a portion’s of the sun’s light, which creates for an eerie and odd-looking sunset. Several of your pictures in the gallery below show that.

DANVILLE, Va. – God’s Pit Crew is shipping three tractor-trailers full of water, Gatorade and hygiene products to help people who’ve been displaced by the wildfires in Oregon and California. God’s Pit Crew is also still helping out people impacted by Hurricane Laura. Recovery from these disasters is still a long way away, but God’s Pit Crew COO Brandon Nuckles said it’s amazing to see the support pour in. God's Pit Crew is sending thousands of Blessing Buckets filled with supplies to help the victims of the wildfires out west. With Hurricane Sally hitting the Gulf Coast, God’s Pit Crew is looking for monetary donations to buy more water, food and supplies because they have to limit the number of volunteers working at a time due to COVID-19.

A number of Northern California wildfires sent a thick, orange-glowing haze over the San Francisco area Wednesday, leaving the Bay in an eerie darkness. A fire burning in Butte County, located northeast of San Francisco, has forced thousands to evacuate from their homes, according to The Associated Press. (2020 Getty Images)An orange glow fills the sky above the Embarcadero in San Francisco. (2020 Getty Images)Smoke from various wildfires blankets the San Francisco skyline in darkness and an orange glow, seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco. (2020 Getty Images)An exterior view of the ballpark in San Francisco, California.

ROANOKE, Va. – 2020 has been the worst year for wildfires in California, with more than 2 million acres burned this year alone. Record temperatures, bone dry air and high wind gusts continue to make the firefight extremely difficult along the West Coast. Nowadays, weather technology is advanced enough to showcase the severity of these fires. The black dots that you see in the picture below are where the surface is hottest, or where wildfires are currently burning. GOES 16 infrared satellite imagery of the wildfires on the west coast - College of Dupage (College of Dupage)RadarWe show radar most often when tracking any form of precipitation.

For parts of the Rockies and Intermountain West, a powerful storm system flipped that upside down. A lone bison stands as a storm packing high winds and snow sweeps through the intermountain West Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in Evergreen, Colo. Estimated snow totals reported by various National Weather Service officesWe received this photo of snow near Lander, Wyoming from Keith Trouwborst. Damaging Wind GustsThe wind around this bowling ball of a storm system was powerful at times as well, even for those who werent getting snow. As the wind screamed down the mountains toward Utah, wind gusts ranged from 50-100 mph.

The bushfires in Australia are still ravaging parts of the country and are wreacking havoc on small communities and rural towns. The damage has been devastating and news of the bushfires has spread overseas with many activists and celebrities sharing photos of the devastation on social media. There are many different places where you can donate money to help with relief, and many celebrities have shared donation links and even donated themselves. I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires. Another Australian actor, Russell Crowe, who is in Australia right now, posted that he donated $105,000 to firefighters.

Large wildfires are burning in the West, including two fires in California. They're being fueled by triple-digit heat. This comes as a "heat dome" smothers much of the nation. Mireya Villarreal has more.

CBS News' Mireya Villarreal reports on the fight against the deadly California wildfires.

More than 135,000 acres are charred as 21 fires blaze across the hot, dry West. Two of those fires have merged into one, threatening 800 homes northeast of Los Angeles. Carter Evans has more.

More than 55,000 acres of farms and ranches have been charred after howling winds caused four wildfires to spread in Northwest Oklahoma. Manuel Bojorquez is there.

The wildfires out West turned deadly Wednesday as three firefighters were killed. Drought and heat have combined to make this one of the worst fire seasons in the state with more than 330,000 acres burned so far this year. CBS News' Danielle Nottingham reports.

The wildfires out West turned deadly Wednesday as three firefighters were killed; Last year's ALS ice bucket challenge helped raise $115 million in just two months.

Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires burning faster than they expected in California. CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy joins CBSN to discuss the fires.

From Montana to California, at least 20 large wildfires are burning in the West. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports on the struggle to contain them.

Wildfires scorching U.S. in record numbers The San Juan fire in Arizona has charred nearly nine square miles in just four days. It’s one of six wildfires currently burning across the country. Nationwide, there have been more than 26,000 wildfires since January, compared to 22,000 for all of 2013. Carter Evans reports.