The Brief: West Coast wildfire and apocalypse 2020 memes are trending on social media after a historic string of wildfires engulfed the West Coast.

DEEP DIVE
California is being ravaged by damaging wildfires. At the time of publication, more than 2.5 million acres have burned so far this season, reports The Washington Post. The intense Labor Day Weekend heatwave paired with a gender reveal party gone terribly wrong hasn’t helped the situation either. As The Washington Post reported in a Sept. 9 article, weather conditions have only exacerbated the situation making it difficult for firefighters to contain. The latest update reads: “These blazes are being driven by strong, dry offshore winds that are causing extreme fire behavior, which can produce everything from mushroom cloud-like plumes of smoke that reach 40,000 feet in height, to vortexes that make it impossible for firefighters to contain an advancing fire.” Climate change is another factor that can greatly worsen the situation.
Wildfires are now active along the West Coast consuming parts of Oregon and Washington, as well. According to CBS News, more acres have burned in Washington in a single day than they usually see all year. The expansive blaze is historic and has caused the evacuations of thousands of people in California, Oregon, and even parts of Idaho.
Sobering map of wildfires in the Western states. In Oregon, there are 35 active fires, which have burned more than 360,000 acres. Sections of I-5 are closed. The entire city of Medford is being evacuated. Stay safe, everyone. pic.twitter.com/rLyJMKbC23
— Thomas Lin (@7homaslin) September 9, 2020
The fires have turned the sky various “apocalyptic” shades of red to dusty yellow.
Yikes. The color of the sky from the fires in Oregon is apocalyptically 2020. pic.twitter.com/98n1wcHkDT
— Dr. Lucky Tran 😷 (@luckytran) September 8, 2020
That's it. I'm moving to Mars. Oregon fire. No filter. pic.twitter.com/2DlXPayJdl
— TheDaily (@StopTheCriminal) September 9, 2020
is this how the dinosaurs felt https://t.co/PrUr45ZUXC
— sahra (@sahrasulaiman) September 9, 2020
Internet users have reacted with memes online.
This one refers to the new Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya sci-fi movie Dune.
Dune's roll out is crazy. https://t.co/nc3ecKyyg7
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) September 9, 2020
Here are two Star Wars references:
California has literally turned into Tatooine. Wtf. https://t.co/yYRDOY1VTu
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 9, 2020
This is how I feel: It’s 10:00 in the morning. I woke up on Tatooine. Jabba the Hutt is President. pic.twitter.com/1ecVyVtaEr
— Elizabeth Sturcken (@esturcken) September 9, 2020
More memes:
Invest in this California Wildfire meme pic.twitter.com/buevAVQhPE
— Meme Economy (@MemeBroker) September 8, 2020
There are plenty of memes involving fires and gender reveal parties, too.
Only You Can Prevent Gender
— zach s-w (@nerdosyndical) September 8, 2020