Two die in McKinney Fire as California's largest blaze this year surpasses 55,000 acres

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The McKinney Fire, the state’s largest wildfire to date, has claimed the lives of at least two people.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday morning that firefighters had found two bodies around 10 a.m. Sunday in a burned-out car on Doggett Creek Road west of Klamath River. The charred vehicle was in a driveway.

The sheriff’s office provided no additional information in a Facebook post.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Courtney Kreider said the two people who were found dead in the vehicle were adults. She said authorities are still working on identifying them and officials with the Chico State University anthropology department have been brought in to help.

"The fact that they were found in a residential driveway, we believe they were obviously trying to flee the fire and they were overcome by the flames," she said.

Kreider said the area where the bodies were found was under an evacuation order and law enforcement had made contact "with this home."

Amy Travis, of the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services, said a missing persons hotline is expected to be up and running Tuesday.

"We have not had any reports of missing persons at this point in time that I'm aware of," Travis said Monday afternoon.

The McKinney Fire, which started Friday afternoon in the Klamath National Forest and then blew up over the weekend, grew to 55,493 acres as of Monday morning, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The fire was still 0% contained. Fire authorities consider containment to mean an established portion of perimeter that's expected to hold — whether that's a bulldozed line, a lake shore, a wide road, or any other tactical or natural feature. Even full containment doesn't mean a fire is extinguished — only that it is no longer expanding and the entire perimeter is expected to hold.

The fast-moving McKinney Fire's rate of spread slowed significantly Sunday and overnight as crews got an assist from Mother Nature.

Mike Lindbery, public information officer on the fire, said relatively high humidity and rain kept the fire from exploding as it had the previous two days.

“A large part of that is meteorological,” Lindbery said Monday.

He noted that an inversion layer blanketed the fire with smoke, “so you don’t get the active fire behavior you would have if you had clear skies.”

Lindbery said portions of the fire also got rain overnight.

“That really helps us out. … That gives us the opportunity to go from more of a defensive posture to more of an offensive posture,” he said.

However, the heavy smoke that socked the area Sunday also hampered efforts to fight the fire from the air, Lindbery said.

“Hopefully we will have air operations today (Monday),” he said.

The weather forecast for the area called for additional thunderstorms Monday evening and showers moving in overnight.

Damage

People on social media have asked how many homes were destroyed in the fire. But authorities on Monday would only say that numerous homes and buildings have been destroyed.

The Highway 96 corridor along the Klamath River, where the two bodies were found, was hit especially hard.

The famous Klamath River Lodge, which had its heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s, was burned in the fire.

Also lost was the Klamath River Community Hall. A roadside sign and a flagpole with the U.S. flag flapping in the wind were all that was left Sunday.

The Klamath River Post Office along Highway 96 was badly damaged, too.

Travis, of the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services, said damage assessments have started.

“We requested a team from the state and they started their assessment yesterday,” Travis said, adding that a team hopes to have more specific numbers by Tuesday.

Air quality improves

Travis said air quality on Monday had improved.

"Yesterday it was raining ash. Today it was not," she said.

All evacuation orders and warnings remained in place Monday.

The fire was still about 5.5 miles west of Yreka, where portions of that city were evacuated Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's office said two people were arrested early Monday morning within the fire's evacuation zone.

One person was arrested on suspicion of possession of burglary tools, while the other was arrested on suspicion of burglary within a fire evacuation zone, the sheriff's office said.

Other fires nearby

The China 2 Fire west of Seiad Valley and south of Highway 96 was at 1,989 acres and 0% contained as of Monday.

The Forest Service has said China 2 was caused by a lightning strike.

At least 10 fires, including the McKinney, were burning in Siskiyou County as of late Sunday night, according to the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services.

Forward progress had been stopped on five of the blazes — the Alex and Hungry fires to the north of the McKinney fire and the Gulch, Meamber and Yellow fires to the south of the McKinney Fire, the agency said.

Reporter Mike Chapman contributed to this story.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: McKinney Fire grows to more than 55,000 acres; two die in wildfire