A raging wildfire along the California-Oregon border is now forcing evacuations in Yreka as high temperatures and punishing winds continue to fuel the blaze. The McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County has burned 51,468 acres, according to the latest update from the U.S. Forest Service Sunday morning. After achieving up to 1% containment on Saturday, crews have now withdrawn without containment.
“The Yreka Police Department has issued an Evacuation Order for the area west of Fairchild Street and Shasta Street to include Oakridge Mobile Estates,” the forest service announced Saturday night. “This area is being evacuated due to the proximity to the fire and the need for additional time necessary to safely evacuate this group of residents. Residents in the Evacuation Order area should evacuate immediately.
“An Evacuation Warning has been issued for all areas of Yreka west of I-5. Residents in the evacuation warning area should prepare to evacuate and should be ready if the area changes to an order.”
The weather conditions are not favorable for the fire brigades. On Sunday, they expect single-digit humidity, lightning, sweltering temperatures and gusty winds, which “will continue to be the drivers for extreme fire behavior.” The Forest Service expects that “structure defense operations will continue along the Highway 96 corridor [and] The community of Beaver Creek.” The next day, they predict “fire growth… will spread in all directions as a Red Flag Thunderstorm and Lightning Warning is in place. The fire could affect the Gottville, Humbug Road area on the east side. Traffic is expected towards Scott Bar as the fire moves away from Collins Baldy.”
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Aerial view of the McKinney Fire burning in California’s Klamath National Forest on July 30, 2022.
InciWeb
The McKinney Fire broke out Friday in the Klamath National Forest, about 15 miles south of the Oregon border, spewing a huge ash cloud and sparking a flurry of evacuations in small forest communities in the northern Golden State. The McKinney Fire was reported at 300 acres Friday night without containment and exploded overnight, reaching 18,000 acres by Saturday morning, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Crazy footage of firefighters escorting residents from the McKinney fire last night. The fire pushed hard into the evening. Today due to visibility, tankers have been diverted to the nearby China 2 fire. 🙏to a subscriber for this video #mcKinneyfire #cali #fire #california pic.twitter.com/SDUQzncztM
— TheHotshotWakeUp: Podcast (@HotshotWake) July 30, 2022
“Because of the erratic winds, the fire is falling everywhere,” Caroline Quintanilla, public information officer for the US Forest Service, told SFGATE Saturday afternoon.
The fire started at 2:38 p.m. on the Oak Knoll Ranger Area, west of the Walker Creek Bridge on the south side of the Klamath River, the U.S. Forest Service said. Thunderstorms moved through the area Friday night and may have fueled the blaze. “We had 100 lightning strikes in western Siskiyou County last night,” said Brad Schaaf, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Medford, Ore.
“It looks like the fire definitely came first, before the storms,” Schaaf said. “It appears that there was a gust of wind from the fire that helped develop the storm. The first lightning occurred after 7 p.m.”
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1of6The Klamath River Community Hall is seen destroyed by the McKinney Fire in the community of Klamath River, Calif., Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier via AP)Scott Stoddard/APShow MoreShow Less2of6In this remo from Cal Fire, the McKinney Fire burns in Siskiyou County as seen from the Antelope Mountain Yreka 1 surveillance camera early Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Cal Fire via AP) Show MoreShow Less3of64of6A structure on California’s Klamath River is seen damaged by the McKinney Fire, Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier via AP) Show MoreShow Less5of6A pickup truck and a trailer that burned overnight in the median of state Highway 96 are seen being destroyed by the McKinney Fire in the community of Klamath River, California , Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier via AP)Scott Stoddard/APShow MoreShow Less6of6
Schaaf said the fire put out a 39,000-foot-high cumulus cloud at 11:30 p.m. Friday. “It’s unusual for a fire to put out a fire cloud of this size late at night because fires usually stabilize after sunset,” he said.
Cumulus clouds, also known as fire clouds, form when air heats up and moves upward, pushing smoke, ash and vapor with it. It is a sign that fire activity on the ground is increasing.
The #McKinneyFire is erupting again this morning after growing to the size of the #OakFire (18,000+ acres) in less than 18 hours.
Hazardous fire weather conditions will develop over the next few days with extreme heat, possible productive dry lightning, and strong/unstable winds. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/ivVjWnDb8d
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) July 30, 2022
Multiple roads were closed due to the fire, including Highway 96, Scott River Road, Highway 96 and Highway 263, the Siskiyou Office of Emergency Services said.
Two other smaller fires were reported near the McKinney Fire, the China Peak Fire and the Evans Peak Fire. The Klamath National Forest said at 11 a.m. Saturday that the China fire was combined with the Evans fire and was about 300 to 350 acres and 2 to 3 miles west of the town of Seiad Valley.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
