For decades, Southern California’s war on smog has focused on strategies to reduce pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks.

Satellite images currently might confuse clouds or a smokestack for fires, Van Arsdale said.

Beyond the highway, a smokestack at a nearby oil refinery billowed toxins.

A photograph was even circulated, depicting smoke spewing from the building’s smokestack!

It’s shiny silver and resembles an RV—has a door and wide windows on the sides—but it also has a smokestack and big wheels with pistons like a locomotive.