It is wildfire season in California and there have already been record-breaking blazes in the state, scorching hundreds of thousands of acres.
Properties, structures, woodland and forests have all been at the mercy of the spreading flames.
Shocking maps produced by NASA satellites show the spread of deadly carbon monoxide spreading across the USA from California.
Air quality has been a concern for residents, with the numerous plastics, metals and unknown materials being burnt up.
Lori Kobza, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District said: “We are in a situation now where the wildfire season doesn’t really have its normal beginning or end.”
Across California, areas are impacted by unhealthy levels of pollution as air quality agencies advise for those with breathing conditions, the young and elderly to remain indoors.
They also advise for windows and doors to remain closed, with air conditioning units set to recirculate so as not to bring polluted air into homes.
Thick smoke has also begun to blanket parts of Portland and Seattle from nearby fires.
Ash has been seen raining down on parts of southern California – with warnings for residents to steer clear of the potentially dangerous downfall.
According to South Coast Air Quality Management: ”Air quality may reach unhealthy levels or higher in areas directly impacted by smoke.“
Dr Cameron Kaiser of the Riverside County Public Health Office warned that ash could cause shortness of breath and chest pains if breathed in.
He added: “Folks with heart or lung disease should not be the ones cleaning up the ash.”
NASA’s Aqua satellite has used an Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) to capture the extent of carbon monoxide being produced by the fires.
According to NASA: “Carbon monoxide is a pollutant that can persist in the atmosphere for about a month and can be transported great distances.”
The carbon monoxide forming from the wildfires is in high concentration and can be seen on the shocking images as dark red over California moving eastwards over the USA.
The carbon monoxide is currently high up in the atmosphere says NASA, which means that it will have “little effect” on residents, but strong winds could carry the pollutant down to areas where air quality would be affected.
Carbon monoxide has no smell or taste, meaning that knowing you are exposed relies on monitors.
High levels of the pollutant can kill, and just breathing some can make you unwell.
When carbon monoxide is inhaled it enters the bloodstream and mixes with the haemoglobin – part of the red blood cells that transmit oxygen – and forms carboxyhaemoglobin.
This causes the blood to be no longer able to carry oxygen, meaning the tissues and cells in the body begin to fail and die.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include; tension-type headaches, nausea, tiredness and confusion, dizziness, stomach pain and shortness of breath.
Treatment for exposure to carbon monoxide is oxygen therapy – where patients are given oxygen masks in order to restore the levels of oxygen in the body.