Ash rains down in California from Caldor Fire
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Rain is a pretty rare sight in drought-stricken California but during fire season, raining ash is unfortunately much more common.
Aaron Hagar shot some video on Wednesday that shows ash falling "like snow" in South Lake Tahoe as a result of the Caldor Fire, now at 65,000 acres, or more than 100 square miles.
"It’s hard to breathe out here," Hagar says in the video. "It’s funky."
MORE: A look at 3 California wildfires: Dixie, Caldor, Cache
He points out large chunks of ash, noting the poor air quality. The worst air quality in the state on Thursday was listed at 799 near Omo Ranch, a small community in El Dorado County.
Most of the Bay Area however was in the fair zone. For example, the Air Quality Index was 58 in Pleasant Hill and 65 in Oakland.
An AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.
The Caldor Fire is just one of 15 fires now being battled in California.