Rain slows McKinney Fire growth
Aug. 3—The McKinney Fire near Yreka in Northern California grew 1,210 acres between Tuesday and Wednesday and covered 57,519 acres as of Wednesday morning with no containment, fire officials reported.
Heavy rainfall on the eastern portion of the fire helped firefighters add more hand-dug fire lines overnight. Crews are making good progress on a 200- to 300-acre spot fire on the northern edge of the fire, officials said.
Crews have built hand and bulldozer lines around various segments of the fire.
Rain kept the fire from growing significantly, but firefighters have to work more cautiously in the area because of risks from mud, downed trees and rock slides. The moisture has allowed them to take a more offensive approach, attacking the fire both directly and indirectly, fire officials said.
Some parts of the fire received a deluge of 3 inches of rain in about an hour, Dennis Burns, California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 fire behavior analyst, said in a briefing.
"But other parts of the fire got no rain whatsoever. We're going into a warmer, drier period, so we expect to see the activity increase pretty significantly today through tomorrow," Burns said Wednesday morning.
The National Weather Service forecasts highs of 96 degrees Wednesday with light winds, 95 degrees Thursday with wind gusts up to 20 mph, and 96 degrees Friday with light winds. Highs will remain in the mid- to high 90s through Tuesday of next week.
Multiple evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, see facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff or facebook.com/SiskiyouCountyOES.
A shelter has been established at the Weed Community Center, 161 E. Lincoln Ave., in Weed, California. Highway 96 remains closed through the fire area.
A community meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Scott Valley Junior High School, 237 Butte St., Fort Jones. The meeting will also be livestreamed on bit.ly/McKinneyFireYouTube and the CAL FIRE Siskiyou Unit Facebook page at facebook.com/CALFIRESKU for those unable to attend in person.
Questions can be sent in advance to 2022.mckinney@firenet.gov.
A 110-mile segment of the Pacific Crest Trail remains closed from Etna Summit to Mount Ashland because of impacts from the McKinney Fire.
For more information on closures along the trail due to fires and fire risk, see the Pacific Crest Trail Association's website at pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures/.
Air quality was in the moderate category for Ashland, Talent, Medford, Shady Cove and Grants Pass Wednesday morning. For updates, check oraqi.deq.state.or.us/home/map.
Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or valdous@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.
