Bay Area covered with white ash, orange skies because of faraway wildfires

Oakland was covered in ash and San Francisco skies turned bright orange as wildfires raged more than an hour's drive away.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory on Sunday as the County Fire burned through Yolo, Lake and Napa counties. The wind blew the smoky air down to the Bay Area, covering cars with white flecks and causing some breathing irritations, especially for those with asthma and other sensitivities.

VIDEO: Orange sky over San Francisco

Swimmers found thick pieces of ash in public pools. Some joggers chose to run at night when the air quality was better and in San Francisco at one open-air cafe on Union Street, tables were bare - a rare sight for the brunch crowd. One waiter said no one wanted to eat outside.

On Monday, weather and wind conditions were improving and the district rated the air quality as "good." There was no Spare the Air Alert in effect as the smoke from the wildfire was riding above the fog and not filtering down to Earth.

On Monday, the Couny Fire, which spanned Yolo, Lake and Napa counties, had charred nearly 45,000 acres and was only 2 percent contained.