A large blaze called the McKinney Fire has erupted near the California-Oregon border, and has reached over 55,000 acres, with 0% containment, according to authorities.
TOPSHOT – Flames burn to the Klamath River during the McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022. – The largest fire in California this year is forcing thousands of people to evacuate as it destroys homes and rips through the state’s dry terrain, whipped up by strong winds and lightning storms. The McKinney Fire was zero percent contained, CalFire said, spreading more than 51,000 acres near the city of Yreka. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
Cal Fire reports that the blaze began on Friday, south of the Klamath River, and within 72 hours had burned a large area, entirely within Siskiyou County. Conditions in the mountains have been very dry, owing to a severe drought that has now lasted three years. The fire’s spread was aided by strong winds as well.
Angela Crawford leans against a fence as a wildfire called the McKinney fire burns a hillside above her home in Klamath National Forest, Calif., on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Crawford and her husband stayed, as other residents evacuated, to defend their home from the fire. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
TOPSHOT – A kitten singed whiskers that survived the McKinney Fire hides in rocks in the Klamath National Forest northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
The fire is the largest currently burning in California; other blazes near Yosemite National Park received more publicity but were swiftly contained after strenuous efforts by firefighters.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday:
The McKinney Fire, in a Klamath Mountains subrange west of Yreka, raced across 20,000 acres overnight Saturday and had devoured 52,498 acres as of Sunday evening, the largest fire now burning in California, state and federal fire agencies said. Crews had wrestled containment to 1%, but that was back down to 0% Sunday as flames charged uphill through tall grass, thick brush and dry timber.
Several homes along Highway 96 near the Klamath River were destroyed, although the dangerous conditions prevented a full assessment of damage, said Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. About 400 structures were threatened as of Sunday, a number that authorities said could grow. About 3,000 people were under evacuation orders as of Sunday night, county emergency operations officials said.
The fire has spread despite local rainfall, because thunderstorms are bringing high winds and lightning that ignites more fires.
The charred remnants of a car towing a trailer that burned when fire jumped the Klamath River remain on the highway at the McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022. – The largest fire in California this year is forcing thousands of people to evacuate as it destroys homes and rips through the state’s dry terrain, whipped up by strong winds and lightning storms. The McKinney Fire was zero percent contained, CalFire said, spreading more than 51,000 acres near the city of Yreka. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
Two bodies were found on Sunday inside a burned-out vehicle in a residential driveway, the Sacramento Bee notes. They are the first known deaths in the McKinney Fire.
A horse grazes in a pasture as the McKinney Fire burns in Klamath National Forest, Calif., Saturday, July 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A horse grazes in a pasture as the McKinney Fire burns in Klamath National Forest, Calif., Saturday, July 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The cause of the McKinney Fire remains undetermined.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.