Here's What Smoke From the Deadly California Wildfires Looks Like From Space

As a wildfire tearing through Northern California killed 42 people, becoming the deadliest recorded in state history, images captured from space showed thick plumes of smoke rising above California.

Wildfires, including the Camp Fire in Northern California and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, have destroyed populated areas of the state in the last week. The overall death toll has risen to 44 people.

A satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows portions of California covered in smoke, as of Monday.

The Camp Fire in Northern California rapidly spread across 117,000 acres by Monday, and was about 30% contained. It devastated the entire town of Paradise, burning down more than 7,100 structures. Further south, the Woolsey wildfire spread over 93,000 acres in an area northwest of Los Angeles, prompting the evacuation of the entire city of Malibu.

Smoke from the wildfires has obscured skies from Southern California up through parts of Northern California. Air quality alerts have been issued for about a dozen cities, including San Francisco, Napa and Chico.

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.