In California’s Klamath National Forest, a mostly rural area near the state of Oregon, the fast-moving McKinney Fire went from burning just over a square mile (about 2.5 square kilometers) on Friday to 62 square miles (160 square kilometers). until Saturday. The blaze burned at least a dozen homes and observers spotted wildlife fleeing the area. Image: California’s McKinney fire burns vehicles and homes Image: McKinney fire burns in Klamath National Forest Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Caroline Quintanilla warned that the fire “continues to grow with erratic winds and thunderstorms in the area and we’re in the triple digits (Fahrenheit). With lightning in the forecast for the next few days, additional resources from elsewhere in the state are coming in to help fight the area’s wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the wildfire escalated, giving him more flexibility to make emergency and recovery decisions and access federal aid. It also allows “firefighting resources from other states to assist California crews in fighting wildfires,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
More about the California wildfires
Climate collapse is increasing both the likelihood and area of wildfires burning in the US, Europe and Australia, creating hotter and drier conditions. More than four million hectares burned in the US between 1984 and 2015 are directly attributable to climate change, according to a peer-reviewed study. Image: A burning truck on Highway 96 in California as the McKinney Fire burns nearby Image: Fires burn near Yreka, California Read more: Shocking images show Europe still burning Thousands ordered to flee as officials declare state of emergency over ‘explosive’ California wildfire Meanwhile, in northeastern Montana, a wildfire nearly tripled in size to more than 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) near the town of Elmo and Flathead Lake. About 200 miles to the south, Idahoans remained under evacuation orders as the Elk Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest burned more than 67 square miles (174 square kilometers) of timberland near the town of Salmon. A pile of vegetation sparked the fire in McKinney, California, according to Tom Stokesberry, regional spokesman for the US Forest Service. “It’s a very dangerous fire – the geography there is steep and rugged, and that particular area hasn’t burned in a while,” he said. Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm. All on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, YouTube and Twitter. The show explores how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.