In this case we are talking about red sunsets. Red sunsets are relatively common near beaches and near the farmlands. However, here in the Rocky Mountains they are more rare; except during wildfire season (Kaingin in local setting).

They physics behind red sunsets is simple. Light is composed of all of the colors of the rainbow, otherwise known as the visible light spectrum. Each color has a slightly different wavelength with red being the longest and blue the shortest.

When the sun is high in the sky the sunlight appears brilliant white or slightly yellow. As the sun sinks toward the western horizon the light has to travel through much more of earth’s atmosphere (about 38 percent more). As a result, the shorter wavelengths (blue and violet) get scattered and we see yellow orange and red.Pollutants in the atmosphere (such as smoke, volcanic ash or salt particles from seawater) scatter the light even further. In this case the greens and yellows also get scattered leaving only the oranges and reds. If conditions are just right, the sun appears as a giant red ball above the horizon, more like a bloated tomato than a blazing star.

The amount of smoke or ash required to produce such a sunset usually requires a fire of considerable magnitude and the effect is best appreciated at a distance of thirty miles away or more. In the case of the Casper Mountain fire, a red sunset may have been visible as far away as Douglas (although I have no confirmation of this).

In some cases, such as the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, red sunsets can be seen for days or weeks after the event. This occurs because there is not only a great deal of ash thrown into the atmosphere, but it is caught by winds aloft, and spread globally.

While such displays are magnificent to behold, they come at a heavy price. The fury of Mother Nature in the form of fire destroys homes, displaces families and threatens lives. Yet this same fury renews the ecosystem and improves habitat; and even the fury has a beauty, harsh though it is. Fire season and red sunsets eventually pass and we can appreciate the beauty while being thankful that their cause is temporary.

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