On Labor Day, September 7, 2020, the combination of drought conditions and strong winds out of the east sparked a series of wildfires in the Cascade mountains and foothills of Oregon. Five mega-fires resulted, and before they were extinguished, nearly 850,000 acres of forests were burned, eleven lives were lost, and more than 4000 homes were destroyed.

On September 8, massive smoke plumes were visible on the horizon near where we live, and I went to a viewpoint in a nearby field to get a better look. This is one of a series of photos I took that day. The ominous color in the sky that afternoon is something I will never forget.