Influencer poses in front of sky turned orange by deadly wildfires to advertise a dress

A social media influencer has been criticised after posing in front of orange skies in California for a photoshoot.

Recent wildfires have devastated California and large swathes of the West Coast, including Oregon – and residual smoke and ashes are turning the sky orange.

Photos and videos are circulating on social media of eerie scenes, with many people pointing out that this kind of imagery is going to become all the more common over the coming years.

Colette LeClair, an influencer and model who often does sponsored content for various companies, took the opportunity to use the unusual backdrop for a post on her social media.

LeClair posted a photo of herself in a bright orange dress on the beach – with orange skies in the background.

She appears to have turned off comments on the post, but people are are still calling her out under other photos and on her other posts.

The distant outline of a bridge can be seen in the back, and it’s evident that LeClair seemed to deliberately go outside for the photo.

People thought that LeClair’s photoshoot was tone deaf, or at least, just kind of unnecessary. They asked why she thought it was a good idea to sell a dress at the moment with the backdrop that she had used – and that if she needed to do so for her business, perhaps she could have found another way to advertise (like many other people living in those states did).

People posted other things they had heard and seen influencers do.

Speaking to Yahoo Life, LeClair acknowledged the fires but didn’t seem to apologise for the offense she had caused with the post itself.

“There is a forest fire 100 miles from where I live, according to the news. It is heartbreaking,” she said to Yahoo Life. 

“I am always Googling the fires and have been since they started, as most people in California would do. I am very sorry for the fires.”

California’s devastating fires have led to nearly 2.3 million acres of land being burned this year, and wildfire season is set to continue until November.

Skies were tinted an eerie orange, and have continued to be that way for the last couple of days.