The Sky Turned Yellow
Sunnyvale, CA
2024, Senior, Creative Writing
The sky is smudged a dull yellow as I look up with squinted eyes. The murmured whispers of classmates flow in and out of my ears; they raise arms to snap photos with the barest amounts of intrigue, fingers tapping quickly across the screen to post. The phone falls back into their pocket. Their lives continue on–next class, next test, next assignment, as the sky above us screams in agony.
I am in fifth grade. My fingers gently tug at the cloth forced around my chapped lips, annoyed at the interference with my breathing. My teacher gently scolds me whenever she sees it off, saying it’s for my own good, but I don’t understand why. A little while later, I ask to go to the bathroom and as soon as the door closes, my mask comes off. My tiny lungs breathe a large sigh of relief, of finally being free, but the air is unclean.
Choking.
I look up at the sky and it is still yellow. Yellow in bunches, bushes grouped together to create a thick, dusty haze. I put back on my mask and don’t speak for the rest of the day, afraid that smog will somehow find its way into me.
I am in seventh grade. The world post COVID-19, eyes still fluttering in fear that somehow, we will be forced into quarantine for the second time. The masks stay on–black cloths, surgical beaks, colorful fabric. And I look up at the sky once again, and see that same sky, tinting everything a yellow hue. The masks, usually found layered on top of each other, now hold the responsibility of fighting a different type of disease.
We are told that we must stay inside for the rest of the week. Some students rejoiced at the prospect of not having to participate in P.E. It was fun, at first, to hide away in the high-ceilinged gym and whisper in the corners with friends. But it soon becomes something of a monster; something to be feared, something looming just at the edge of the skyline. It becomes something others desperately try to avoid talking about, but avoidance does not change the fact that the fires stay there, waiting.
I am in ninth grade, viewing high-resolution images on the news of flames that lick the corners of buildings. My mother comes in to warn me that I will not be allowed to attend track practice. Close all the windows, she tells me, the smoke is coming. I step outside for just one moment and smell a horrific, chemical scent that protrudes my senses and forces me inside. It’s the smell of a nearby recycling plant–toxins and trash all making their way over. The TV, still running in the background, says it’s the result of a wildfire spreading. I try to scrub the scent off my body, but even after a long shower, remiscents of the smell still tingle in the air. And later, a yellow cast begins peaking through the window blinds.
Outside of our small Bay Area bubble, wildfires continue to rage across the country, ravaging and destroying the lives of millions. I grew up with these constant disasters, thinking that putting our lives on hold to avoid the dangerous air qualities from wildfires was normalcy.
Surrounded by even the boldest and eye-catching news headlines, many students ignore the growing issue of wildfires and smoke that begin to sneak into our lungs. Ignorance is bliss–but since this group of students will make up the future generation, it is crucial that the dangers of environmental crises are not ignored.
Fires from Northern California to Southern Oregon have been a continuous source of the smoke that spreads to the Bay Area. Smoke has been known to cause harmful effects within the human body, as once you inhale the microscopic particles, you become at risk for both cardiac and respiratory conditions. Wildfire smoke is especially dangerous for children. Smoke often carries remnants of ash, which have a high chance of finding their way into the lungs of kids. The drier, warmer temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels have created conditions that allow the fires to increase their severity and occurrence.
My fifth grade self may have thought that day of nothing too out of the ordinary. Cover your faces and that will be the end of it, they told me. But the solution can’t merely be pasting a bandaid on broken glass; the glass stays broken and will eventually draw blood if not fixed.
Our generation stays hungry for change–and as part of the group that will continue to grow up in the frontlines of Earth’s manifestation of pain, I hope our experiences will lead us to creating a greener future for all.
Works Cited
American Lung Association. “How Wildfires Affect Our Health.” Www.lung.org, 2 Jan. 2016, www.lung.org/blog/how-wildfires-affect-health.
Graff, Amy. “What to Know about the Smoke Blanketing the SF Bay Area.” SFGATE, 20 Sept. 2023, www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/smoke-forecast-san-francisco-bay-area-18377962.php. Accessed 26 May 2024.
US EPA, ORD. “Wildland Fire Research: Health Effects Research.” US EPA, 30 Mar. 2017, www.epa.gov/air-research/wildland-fire-research-health-effects-research#:~:text=The%20effects%20of%20smoke%20from.
“Wildfires & Climate Change | California Air Resources Board.” Ww2.Arb.ca.gov, ww2.arb.ca.gov/wildfires-climate-change#:~:text=During%20the%20recent%20%E2%80%9Chotter%E2%80%9D%20drought.
Reflection
A student shares anecdotes dealing with fires in the Bay Area.