Striking images show California wildfires from space

The photos were taken this week from the International Space Station.

ByABC News
December 7, 2017, 3:02 AM

— -- The California wildfires have burned through so much acreage in the Golden State that the smoke is visible from space.

NASA tweeted a handful of photos of the smoke plume drifting over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.

The NASA photos were taken from the International Space Station, and show heavy clouds of smoke billowing from California's mountainous terrain.

PHOTO: Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
PHOTO: Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.

A major Santa Ana weather event with wind gusts between 70 and 80 mph, and low relative humidity are to blame for the Skirball fire, which is threatening Los Angeles' affluent Bel Air neighborhood, officials said.

PHOTO: A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over the Skirball Fire which began early morning in Bel-Air, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017.
A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over the Skirball Fire which began early morning in Bel-Air, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017.

The four fires are currently blazing through thousands of acres in California, forcing residents to evacuate. Each of the fires was at just 5 percent containment or below as of Wednesday afternoon.

PHOTO: A man walks among the ruins of a home destroyed by the Thomas Fire as smoke obscures the sky in Ventura, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017.
A man walks among the ruins of a home destroyed by the Thomas Fire as smoke obscures the sky in Ventura, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

PHOTO: Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
PHOTO: Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.
Astronauts on the International Space Station took photos of the smoke from the Southern California wildfires affecting the Los Angeles area on the week of Dec. 4, 2017.

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