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NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Smoke from the devastating western wildfires has spread across the nation and is affecting the skies all the way on the East Coast.
The smoke caught a jet stream, moving at altitudes as high as 25,000 feet, and could be seen obscuring the sun, creating hazy conditions in the New York City area on Monday and Tuesday.
"It's all aloft, it's caught up in the jet stream, so it's about 15,000 to 20,000 feet on up and higher. So it looks horrible, there's no blue out there at all, the sky has an orange, brown, reddish tinge to it, but it is not down here at the surface so much, fortunately," WCBS 880 Meteorologist Craig Allen said.
Air quality in the Tri-State area is not being impacted, but in parts of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the air quality "is equivalent to smoking 20 packs of cigarettes."
Thousands of firefighters have been battling fires in California, Oregon and Washington.
At least 35 people have died in the wildfires.