Two people were found dead in the path of the McKinney Fire as California’s largest wildfire of 2022 burned more than 50,000 acres in the Klamath National Forest. week endA sheriff’s office said Monday.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said firefighters found two bodies inside a burned-out vehicle parked on a residential road west of the Klamath River community Sunday morning. The people have not been identified.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions about who these people are,” Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said during a news conference Monday evening, adding that the county has not received any reports of missing persons.
Uncontrolled McKinney Fire grew to 86 square miles Monday morning, according to the Klamath National Forest Division of the U.S. Forest Service. According to AquaWeather, the heavily forested region of Northern California has experienced a long period of severe drought.
Lightning strikes and dry conditions ignited the fire on Friday, with the fire having grown to 18,000 acres within hours, Calfire Unified Incident Commander Daryl Laws said Monday evening.
“Mother Nature wasn’t very good to us when this fire started,” he said.
But increased humidity and rainfall throughout Monday gave firefighters an advantage in fighting the blaze, fire officials said. CalFire Siskiyou Division Chief Phil Anzo said firefighters were “blessed” with some rain on Monday.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.
The McKinney Fire is 0% contained as of Monday evening.
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More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as the wildfire grows west of the town of Yreka, about 22 miles south of the California-Oregon border.
Heavy smoke reverses – when the smoke hangs Low to the ground — helped contain the fire’s growth on Sunday, but mostly grounded the plane Forest Service.
Any afternoon thunderstorm activity this week could have dry lightning strikes that could fuel additional fires. AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Officials did not confirm how many buildings were damaged or destroyed by the fire. But popular The Klamath River Lodge, which was in its heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s, was destroyed in a fire. The Klamath River Community Hall was also lost. Only a roadside sign and a flagpole with an American flag flying in the wind remained on Sunday.
Crews are still investigating the cause of the McKinney fire, which ignited on July 29 and is set to surpass the Oak fire as California’s largest fire in 2022.
There was a 30 square mile oak fire Contains 67% As of Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Contributed by: David Benda, Reading Record Searchlight
