McKinney Fire Updates: Get McKinney Fire information from the US Forest Service. Information Line: 530-643-0279Evacuations – Get the latest information from ZoneHaven. An evacuation center has been opened at the Weed Community Center. Wildfire Cams: Live Stream from AlertWildfire.
A wildfire along the California-Oregon border is now forcing evacuations in Yreka as high temperatures and strong winds continue to fuel the blaze. The McKinney fire in Siskiyou County has blackened 51,468 acres and is only 1 percent contained, according to the latest update from the US Forest Service Sunday morning.
“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 evening. “This area is being evacuated due to the proximity to the fire and the need for additional time needed for this group of residents to evacuate safely. Residents in the Evacuation Order area should evacuate immediately.
“An evacuation advisory has been issued for all areas of Yreka west of I-5. Residents in the evacuation advisory area should prepare to evacuate and should ‘be prepared if the area is changed to an order’.
Weather conditions are not favorable for firefighters. On Sunday, they expect single-digit humidity, lightning, blistering temperatures and gusty winds, which “will continue to be the drivers of extreme fire behavior.” The Forest Service expects “structure defense operations to continue in the Highway 96 corridor [and] The community of Beaver Creek.” The next day, they are projecting “fire growth…spreading in all directions as a red flag warning for thunderstorms and lightning is forecast. The fire could affect the Gottville area, Humbug Road on the east flank. Movement towards Scott Bar is expected as the fire moves from Collins Baldy.”
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Aerial image 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, sending up a massive plume of pyrocumulus clouds and triggering a flurry of evacuations in small forest communities across much of the north. of the golden state. The McKinney fire was reported to be 300 acres uncontained Friday night, and grew overnight, reaching 18,000 acres by Saturday morning, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Crazy footage of firefighters escorting residents out of McKinney fire last night. The fire pushed hard into the evening. Today due to visibility tankers have been diverted to the upcoming fire in China 2. 🙏to a subscriber to this footage #mcKinneyfire #cali #fire #california pic.twitter.com/SDUQzncztM
— TheHotshotWakeUp: Podcast (@HotshotWake) July 30, 2022
“Because of the erratic winds, the fire is going all over the place,” Caroline Quintanilla, public information officer for the US Forest Service, told SFGATE on Saturday afternoon.
The fire started at 2:38 p.m. on the Oak Knoll Ranger District west of the Walker Creek Bridge on the south side of the Klamath River, the U.S. Forest Service said. Thunderstorms moved through the region Friday night and may have fueled the fire. “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 there was a gust of wind from the fire that aided the development of the storm. The first lightning occurred after 7 p.m.”
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1 of 6 The 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/APSShow moreShow’ n less 2 of 6 In this remote image provided by Cal Fire, the McKinney Fire burns in Siskiyou County as seen from the Antelope Mountain Yreka 1 lookout camera early Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Cal Fire via AP) seen destroyed by the McKinney fire, Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier via AP) Show moreShow less Fire in the community of Klamath River, Calif., Saturday, July 30 2022. (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier via AP)Scott Stoddard/APSShow moreShow less6 of 6
Schaaf said the fire put out a 39,000-foot-high pyrocumulus 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 the sun goes down,” he said.
Pyrocumulus clouds, also known as fire clouds, form when air heats up and moves upward, pushing smoke, ash and steam with it. They are a sign that fire activity on the ground is increasing.
The #McKinneyFire flares up again this morning after growing to the size of the #OakFire (+18,000 acres) in less than 18 hours.
The next few days will provide dangerous fire weather conditions with extreme heat, potential for prolific dry lightning and strong/erratic winds. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/ivVjWnDb8d
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) July 30, 2022
Several 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 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 had merged with the Evans Fire and was 300 to 350 acres and 2 to 3 miles west of the city of Seiad Valley.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.