THE scene was eerily familiar. The sky has turned orange and with a giant plume of smoke from forest fire blotting out the sun, motorists had to drive with their headlights on, although it was 11 am in the morning. Yet, this is not something that happened in Jambi, Indonesia, where last year's forest fires turned the sky bloody red while smoke with significant amounts of pollutant particles choked millions of people living in the area.
The scene was from San Francisco, one of the wealthiest cities in the United States, which is currently in the thick of massive forest fires affecting three Western states: California, Oregon and Washington.