McKinney Fire death toll increases as firefighters continue to battle blaze
The death toll attributed to California's enormous McKinney Fire increased to four on Tuesday as the massive wildfire continued to rage on for a fifth day, having already destroyed over 56,000 acres, state and fire officials said.
"Search teams located two additional deceased individuals in the #McKinneyFire perimeter Monday. Both individuals were located at separate residences along [State Route] 96," the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter. "At this time there are no unaccounted for persons."
The uncontrollable wildfire exploded to life late last week in Northern California and has since become the largest wildfire of the year so far in the state. The fire has left widespread structural damage in its wake and forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
AccuWeather forecasters say weather conditions in the coming days will only cause more trouble for firefighters trying to contain the monster blaze.
The McKinney Fire began on Friday afternoon in the Klamath National Forest, a forest located near the border with Oregon. It then grew rapidly over the weekend and had already ripped through more than 52,000 acres by Sunday night.
The first two victims of the blaze were found Sunday morning in a burned vehicle located west of Klamath River, California, within the path of the McKinney Fire, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a Facebook post on Monday. The victims' identities have not yet been released.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire had consumed over 56,000 acres and was zero percent contained, according to CAL FIRE. Firefighters who initially worked to contain the fire this past weekend had to quickly switch their focus on evacuating thousands from their homes as the blaze grew increasingly out of control.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with officials ruling out the theory that the fire was started by a lightning strike. Between Sunday and Monday, Siskiyou County, where the McKinney Fire is burning, received more than 262 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, per CAL FIRE.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday for Siskiyou County. Nearly 3,000 people have been ordered to evacuate since then, according to The New York Times.
"As a community, we all feel what's going on ... we all hurt together," Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah Larue said during a Monday evening community meeting. "It's hard for us to process things as they're happening, and we have a lot of unanswered questions ... we are here as public servants to safeguard life and property, and we take that very seriously. We do love this community."
Larue also noted that there are approximately 100 structures that officials are looking at for potential damages caused by the blaze, including homes, a community center and a grocery store. Overall, 849 firefighters and other personnel were battling the blaze and trying to contain it as of Monday evening.
On Sunday, 60 hikers were evacuated from a portion of the Pacific Coast Trail, a popular hiking trail that runs through the Klamath National Forest, according to the news site SF Gate. While these hikers were not in imminent danger, the highly volatile nature of the McKinney Fire made being in the area unsafe. The U.S. Forest Service has since closed 110 miles of the Pacific Coast Trail through Aug. 30.
The level of destruction for communities in the path of the fire came into focus as scenes from the area of the blaze began to surface late this weekend. Videos taken in burned areas showed homes charred to their foundations, vehicles melted down to their frames and rubble scattered nearby.
However, the fire has not yet destroyed everything in its path. On Saturday, Jonathan Rivas was documenting the devastation caused by the McKinney Fire in Klamath River when an unexpected visitor approached him. In the video shot by Rivas, a black-and-white puppy emerges from the rubble and runs up to him with its tail wagging, happy to have found some help.
Rivas brought the dog to the safety of his car, gave the pup plenty of water and later dropped the lucky pooch at a rescue center, where he was eventually reunited with his owner.
Thick smoke bogged down the area this weekend as visibility and air quality quickly deteriorated. Intense smoke kept firefighting aircraft mostly grounded on Sunday, the Klamath National Forest said in a Facebook post. California Interagency IMT 10 Operations Section Chief Heather McRae added that the visibility issues caused by the smoke continued Monday but that water-dropping missions are in effect via aircraft support when possible, in addition to hand line support on the ground.
The McKinney Fire is now the largest wildfire of the year thus far in California, according to CAL FIRE. The next-largest fire in the state is the still-burning Oak Fire in Mariposa County, with just under 20,000 acres burned.
Three other fires are currently burning in the Klamath National Forest in addition to the McKinney Fire: the China 2 Fire, the Shackleford Fire and the Kelsey Fire. According to CAL FIRE, 11 fires have been reported between Saturday and Monday, with six confirmed. Other fires that became 100% contained included the Hebron Fire, Davis Fire and Picard Fire.
AccuWeather forecasters say Mother Nature will be little to no help at all in containing the fires in the coming days.
Gusty winds increased on Monday evening. Luckily, a few showers slowed the growth of the McKinney Fire. However, gusty winds can once again cause the fire's behavior to become erratic and spread quickly.
Any thunderstorms this week would likely do more harm than good. On Tuesday, a flash flood watch was issued for the area where the McKinney Fire is burning, with likely heavy rainfall bringing the potential for mudslides, rock falls and debris flows. The flood watch was allowed to expire on Wednesday morning as the risk for heavy rainfall diminshed.
"The Klamath National Forest will be on the fringes of an area of monsoon moisture into midweek which will raise the risk for dry lightning strikes across the area," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Dry lightning occurs when precipitation from a thunderstorm evaporates before it reaches the ground, but cloud-to-ground lightning strikes still happen. When lightning strikes the tinder-dry ground in places like Northern California, wildfires can spark. Meanwhile, strong winds from thunderstorms work to turn the spark into a massive blaze.
"Multiple factors came together to create dangerous conditions for the McKinney Fire," Buckingham said. "The region is densely forested and is in the midst of a long-term, severe drought. In addition, temperatures last week were well above average and challenged record highs at times."
By midweek, Buckingham expects monsoon moisture to shift away from Northern California.
"While the lack of rainfall will do little to assist area firefighters, the risk of dry lighting starting additional blazes will be much lower from midweek on," Buckingham explained.
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