When the World was Orange

Five years ago we awoke to an orange sky::

distant wildfire smoke, cool fog, and still air combined to turn the sky orange. It was so dark that the automatic street lights were on at 10 a.m.

Chronicle photographer Jessica Christian captured the "otherworldly" mood that morning in the above view of the Bay Bridge from the Embarcadero.

I was thinking about what iconic locations I could visit that would give a sense of place while also showing this bizarre orange sky and how people were reacting to it.

I photographed my drive across the Bay Bridge, I got off at the first San Francisco exit and photographed the iconic view of the bridge from looking east on Harrison, then decided to head towards the Embarcadero. Remember, we were in the middle of a pandemic that kept us at least six feet apart at all times. The city had been eerily quiet for at least six months, so I remember the first thought I had wasn’t of the sky, but it was the surprise of being surrounded by so many strangers for the first time in a very long time. It felt like everybody came out of their offices or their houses to experience the strange sky, to ask each other what was going on. In a moment of some real fear, there was also community and I think we were all craving that. No one was looking at their phones, they were looking up.

I took this photo at 9:48 a.m. It took a little while for us to get answers as to why this was happening, but … this phenomenon was the result of multiple wildfires burning across California and (the Pacific Northwest) sending smoke hovering above a low-lying marine layer of fog where the sun cut through both, illuminating the sky orange. It only lasted a few hours, the orange glow illuminated only because of the low angle of the morning sun. It was something that had rarely happened before and would maybe never happen again.

The person in this photo is named Eli Harik. After I took the photo I asked for his name and we kind of just talked about how crazy this all was. When I first spotted him, I wasn’t sure if his mask was being used to protect him from the heavy wildfire smoke in the air or to protect him from COVID, which is just a wild thing to think about five years later. Later on, as the picture got more popular online, Eli had friends and family, reaching out to him after recognizing him. To this day, we follow each other on Instagram. The seagull in this photo is also notable. I wonder what was going through its head while it shared this moment looking at the sky with Eli.

Some environmental enthusiasts (alarmists is too strong a word) believed that this orange sky would be the first of many. We have not seen its like again.

Another Addition to the Heap of Worries

The complete collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when one vertical support was struck by a container ship highlights a similar vulnerability in thousands of U.S. bridges. In this group eight major U.S. bridges are "fracture critical":

At least seven bridges, some of them twin spans, have clearance similar to the Key according to the National Bridge Inventory, a collection of the inspection records done on the nation’s thousands of highway bridges, based on last year’s version of the data released by the Federal Highway Administration. An eighth has piers that stand on or next to land. The eight are part of important transportation systems in California, Maryland, Oregon, New York and Washington.

All but one are older than the Key, and all contain what is known as “fracture critical members,” meaning the failure of even a single steel component in tension could cause a collapse.

The San Francisco Bay Area is fortunate that a supersize container vessel hasn't gone astray and damaged either of its iconic bridges, but the lack of capital reserves means that this addition to the heap of worries won't be relieved anytime soon.

So Bad in Their Execution

Ribbon cutters included SF supervisor Jane Kim, Nancy
Pelosi, and Mayor London Breed (3rd from right).

Success has a thousand fathers and mothers. August 10:
Thousands jam new Transbay Transit Center for its open house

Thousands of visitors jammed the new Transbay Transit Center for its grand opening party Saturday...Lines stretched the length of the Grand Hall as people tried to get into the $2.2 billion multistory transportation hub.

But that was then.

This is now. September 28:
Salesforce Transit Center to remain closed after crack in second beam discovered

The $2.2 billion Salesforce Transit Center is expected to remain closed at least through the end of next week after inspectors found a second cracked steel beam beneath the center’s rooftop park, officials said Wednesday.

Flashback to 2015, after spending $6 billion:
Plague of problems puts Bay Bridge seismic safety in question

Flashback to 2009: SF Officials Knew About Sinking Millennium Tower

For a City that likes to lecture the rest of us against pushing Nature too far, it's astonishing that it: 1) proceeds with multi-billion-dollar construction projects on top of landfill next to major earthquake faults, and 2) is so bad in their execution.

$6.5 Billion Doesn't Buy What it Used To

From the initial 1997 $1 billion estimate to its "final" $6.5 billion cost when it opened in 2013, the new Eastern span of the Bay Bridge was a typical government construction project that experienced drastic modifications, multi-year delays, and gigantic cost overruns. But at least it finally got done.....Or did it?

The eastern tower (SFGate photo)

From today's Chronicle:

Caltrans tests indicate that salt water from the bay may be seeping into the foundation of the new Bay Bridge eastern span’s tower, an ominous prospect that raises questions about the long-term viability of hundreds of massive steel rods that anchor the landmark structure.

Where will the State get the billions of dollars to fix a problem that could cost lives? Well, down south there's an expensive transportation project of dubious benefit that has absolutely nothing to do with public safety.....

[Update - 5/7: Bay Bridge news gets worse: "One of the steel rods anchoring the tower of the new Bay Bridge eastern span has failed a key integrity test, suggesting it became corroded and broke during years when it was soaking in water."]

Still Second Choice

Having lived in the Bay Area for nearly 40 years, I avoid the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge whenever possible. Whether heading east or west, the traffic always seems to stop when going through San Francisco and Berkeley, so I take the longer San Mateo Bridge/580/680 route when traveling north to Sacramento or Reno/Tahoe. Adding to the congestion are the poor esthetics: the lower (eastbound) deck of the Bay Bridge is ugly and poorly lit and has been declared seismically unsafe, to boot.

After eleven years and an expenditure of over $6.5 billion, the first major Bay Bridge reconstruction in nearly 80 years was completed over the Labor Day weekend. Opening to great fanfare, the new Eastern span is definitely prettier and safer, but it remains to be seen whether traffic will run more smoothly. The San Mateo Bridge will still be the first choice on this person's trip planner.

The new eastern span

The Bay Bridge western span hasn't changed...for now

Lights, Action, Camera

Bay Lights test last week (Mercury news photo)

Artist Leo Villareal will officially fire up his Bay Lights project ("the world's largest light sculpture") on Tuesday night. The privately funded $8 million work of art will likely be added to the list of must-see San Francisco attractions. The still photo above doesn't capture the effect of the moving patterns of light, shown in the following video (in Flash, unfortunately for iPad and iPhone users) recorded last week.



The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is more important to the region's economy than its much more famous sibling to the West. The Bay Lights project (www.thebaylights.org) will give the Bay Bridge the attention that it deserves. © 2013 Stephen Yuen

Adaptation

The Bay Bridge closure enters its second day. Obviously, the main disruption occurred in the Oakland-San Francisco artery, but traffic throughout the Bay Area was affected. Many drivers chose the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge as their Bay crossing alternative, perhaps 40 miles and two hours out of their way with the heavier traffic. That meant extraordinary delays going north into San Francisco from the mid-Peninsula where I live.

I cancelled a couple of meetings in the City and promised to reschedule them until after the bridge re-opens. It helps that my work can be done on the computer and telephone and doesn’t often require my physical presence. I suspect that’s true for many jobs: workers can connect with computers, smartphones, and broadband connections from home. That’s not as true with the health profession and retailers; not surprisingly those industries are plagued with high fixed costs not easily reducible by technology. Meanwhile, the adaptation continues:

A trend apparent during the first day of the shutdown Wednesday - commuters leaving early to beat the rush - seemed to be taking hold today, said Officer John Short of the California Highway Patrol, who was monitoring traffic conditions from Caltrans' Traffic Management Center in Oakland.

Compared to Wednesday, "I would say it's probably a little light, less incidents - and that's a good thing," Short said. "I'm looking at (Highway) 92 and (Interstate) 880, and there's a lot of cars out there, but traffic is down, and also incidents are down."

Oh, well, that’s enough rumination, as I reach for another lemonade on the sunshiny patio of a lively Italian restaurant on the Peninsula. That’s how you deal with life’s lemons. © 2009 Stephen Yuen

Friday Afternoon Blues

The San Francisco Blues festival came to town last weekend. The amplified sound reverberated off the concrete, making it difficult to focus on the financial formulas in a complicated spreadsheet. I took the elevator down to the Plaza and watched gray-haired fifty-somethings exult to the beat. Will boomers ever start acting their age?

I went back to the office and wrapped up a couple of small projects. Glancing out the window improves one's perspective. And the Bay has a calming effect, an attribute not to be taken lightly in these tumultuous times.

Lunch Break

The tall ships began firing their cannons around noon. The booms reverberated around our floor. Don’t they know some of us are trying to work here?

I went outside to enjoy the sun and mild weather. Picking up a plate of asparagus chicken at the Chinese take-out restaurant, I spotted two former co-workers lunching together.

P. is a retiree who’s saved enough to go on cruises to exotic locales several times a year. She rarely drives her new German car because she’s hardly at home. She looked tanned and trim. I complimented her on her appearance, and she returned the favor. I scanned her face for any hint of insincerity, but she’s not the dissembling sort. She complained about the cost of retiree health insurance. I said that if she’s looking for sympathy she’s come to the wrong place.

L. is a star at a business that we spun off two years ago. She just returned from having her second child and looks as svelte as ever. Her husband works full time, and the kids are watched by grandma. The ladies are a generation apart, but both seemed to be in control of their lives, no mean achievement in a decade of disruptions. After ten minutes of banter, I withdrew. P. didn’t come to the City to see me.

After lunch the cannons continued their booming. I needed to concentrate. It was time for the Serenity Prayer.

All Too Quickly

Boston and San Francisco have oft-remarked similarities---a rich maritime history, world-class universities, liberal politics, and leading technology companies, not to mention a big city to the south that dominates the region. But in one respect they are today quite different.

Boston is the center of the sports universe; the Red Sox are champions of professional baseball for the second time this decade, and the New England (nee Boston) Patriots have won three professional football titles in the past six years. The Red Sox are young and should be a top team for years to come, while the Patriots appear more dominant than ever. Meanwhile, Bay Area sports teams languish near the bottom of their divisions.

But it wasn’t that long ago that San Francisco and Oakland were at the top of the sports world. In the 1980’s the road to the Super Bowl ran through Candlestick Park, and the Oakland Athletics made three straight appearances in the World Series. Enjoy these days, Boston, they will pass all too quickly.

Warm Feeling

The temperatures have been extraordinarily mild this past week. We’ve switched off the furnace and will collect a rebate from PG&E because we cut our annual consumption of natural gas by more than 20%. The Bay Area has been fortunate: no hurricanes or winter blizzards such as those that hit the Northeast last weekend. No major earthquakes or fires since the 1980’s. A blessed place indeed.

Bay Bridge and Treasure Island: on a T-shirt afternoon in February.