Search teams discovered the bodies Monday at separate residences along State Route 96, one of the only roads in and out of the remote area near the Oregon state line, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “This brings the confirmed death toll to four,” the sheriff’s statement said. “There are currently no missing persons.” Other details were not immediately released. The remains of two people were also found Sunday inside a charred vehicle in the driveway of a home near the tiny unincorporated community of Klamath River, which was heavily damaged in the McKinney fire, sheriff’s officials said. This fire has burned nearly 228 square kilometers and is the largest of several fires burning in the Klamath National Forest near the California-Oregon border. “It’s really tragic when a fire gets up and moves that fast and basically wipes out a community. And that’s what happened in the Klamath River area,” Mike Lindbery, a spokesman for the fire’s incident management team, said Tuesday.
“Keep your prayers for us”
As fires raged over the weekend in California, Franklin Thom fled his home in the small town of Yreka where he grew up on the edge of a California national forest. He arrived at a shelter with his daughter, his medication, some clothes and his shower shoes. Unlike some others, he was told that he had escaped with his house still standing. “Keep your prayers for us,” said 55-year-old Tom. WATCHES | McKinney fire wipes out homes in California:
California resident describes massive loss from Mt. McKinney fire
A resident of California’s Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, surveys the charred landscape from a fast-moving wildfire and lists the many homes and structures that have disappeared. More than 100 homes and other buildings have burned in the McKinney fire since it broke out last Friday. Rain helped firefighters as they tried to control the spread of the blaze, but authorities said it was still burning. The cause of the McKinney fire is under investigation. A smaller fire near the tiny community of Happy Camp forced evacuations and road closures as it burned out of control Tuesday. More wildfires are raging across the western US, threatening thousands of homes.
Fires continue in Montana, Idaho, Nebraska
In northwestern Montana, a wildfire that started Friday near the town of Elmo on the Flathead Indian Reservation has burned some structures, but authorities said they did not immediately know if they were homes. The fire was 66 square kilometers on Tuesday, 10 percent contained, fire officials said. Some residents were forced to evacuate Monday as gusty afternoon winds fueled the fire. Idaho’s Moose Fire has burned more than 220 square kilometers in the Salmon-Challis National Forest while threatening homes, mining operations and fisheries near the town of Salmon. 23 percent were contained on Tuesday, according to the National Interagency Coordinating Center. In this photo provided by the Nebraska Forest Service, a bicycle is seen under a collapsible power pole as smoke from the Carter Canyon wildfire drifts across western Nebraska on Monday. Fire crews battling the blaze that has destroyed some homes looked to the sky Tuesday as forecasters warned of thunderstorms. (Nebraska Forest Service/The Associated Press) A wildfire raging in northwest Nebraska has prompted evacuations and damaged or destroyed several homes near the small town of Gering. The Carter Canyon Fire started Saturday as two separate fires that joined. It was more than 30 percent limited by Tuesday.
“We have the time”
California’s McKinney wildfire has become the state’s largest wildfire so far this year after being fueled by weekend winds gusting to 50 km/h. Cloudy weather and scattered rain continued to aid firefighters Tuesday as bulldozers battled wildfires in the small and quaint tourist destination town of Yreka, California. Crews carving firebreaks in steep, rugged terrain also made progress, fire officials said. The fire was about 4 miles from downtown Yreka, which has a population of about 7,500. “We have the weather,” said Todd Mack, incident fire commander for the U.S. Forest Service. “We’ve got the horsepower. And we’re getting it.” But lightning over the weekend also sparked several smaller fires near the McKinney fire. And despite the much-needed moisture, forests and fields in the region remained dry. WATCHES | Wildfires continue in Northern California:
Firefighters continue to battle the flames in California
The fast-growing McKinney Fire in Northern California has burned more than 30,000 acres in the Klamath National Forest near the state’s border with Oregon. The situation is further complicated by storms that bring erratic winds that can drive the flames in unexpected directions. Among those waiting for the fire at the Yreka shelter Monday was Paisley Bamberg, 33. She arrived a few months ago from West Columbia, SC, and was living in a motel with her six children, ages 15 to one year old — twins , when she was told to evacuate. “I started throwing everything on top of my truck,” she said, noting that she had to leave a lot of stuff behind. Bamberg said she had just been hired at an Arby’s restaurant and wondered if she would survive the fire. “There may not be much when we get back,” he said. “I don’t know if I have a job. The kids had to start school and I don’t know if the school is still standing.” Bamberg said she was trying to keep her spirits up. “I’ve got six little people depending on me. I can’t break down or falter.”
“I never thought it would ever happen”
About 2,500 people were ordered to evacuate, but Thom said he knew many who had remained in Yreka. “There are still a lot of people in the city, people who refused to leave,” he said. “A lot of people who don’t have vehicles and can’t go. It’s really sad.” Thom has lived in Yreka all his life, but said this was the first time he had been threatened by a wildfire. Three plumes of smoke from the McKinney wildfire in California can be seen early Saturday morning. (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection/Cal Fire/The Associated Press) “I never thought it would ever happen. I thought, ‘We’re invincible,’” he said. “That makes me a liar.” Scientists said climate change has made the West hotter and drier over the past three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. The U.S. Forest Service has closed a 177-mile section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail in northern California and southern Oregon. Authorities helped 60 hikers in the area evacuate Saturday, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon.