Smoggy skies to blue skies

Growing up in San Bernardino County (CA), I thought the normal color of the sky was a very pale blue, almost white, because of the smog. The only time the sky would be its true blue color was after the rain (which was rare) or when the Santa Ana hot, dry winds were blowing fiercely in the fall. San Bernardino has the second worst smog problem in the entire United States, second only to Los Angeles. They have smog alerts to let people know when the air is so bad that it is harmful for children to play outside. Those days are the "dangerous days of summer." 70% of summer days in the San Bernardino area are dangerous for children with asthma. Schools cancel sports practice when the smog alert is high.

The following two photos are from Google Images showing the smoggy San Bernardino sky:
Auto exhaust is the culprit, though it is aided and abetted by the fact that the San Bernardino Valley is surrounded by high mountains. Winds blow the bad air from west to east, through the extensive LA-to-SanBernardino freeway corridor, and "thermal inversion" traps the smoggy air in the SB valley for weeks at a time.
Ever since anti-smog devices have been required by law on all cars in California the smog is not as bad as it was in the 1950s and 60s, but there are many more cars now and the air quality is still bad, worst in the summertime.
So, you can imagine my delight upon seeing the true blue color of the sky up here in the mountains of El Dorado County (northern California).
It never ceases to amaze me...
...and I am thankful that I now breathe clean air.

See unique and beautiful skies around the world at SkywatchFriday. Thank you Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing guy, Louise and Sylvia for keeping up this site!