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McKinney Fire

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Unit Information

1711 S. Main St 
Yreka, 
96097 
1711 S. Main St 
Yreka, 
96097 

Incident Contacts

  • Klamath National Forest
    Phone:
    530-842-6131
    Hours:
    Daily 8-5p

McKinney Fire Update 8/10/2022

McKinney Fire
Publication Type: News 08/11/2022

 

Location: Siskiyou County, CA 

Size: 60,389 acres 

Percent Contained: 60 % 

Cause: Under Investigation 

Vegetation: Timber (Litter and Understory), Tall Grass, and Brush 

Number of Personnel Assigned: 3,144  

 

Start Date: Friday July 29, 2022 at 2:15pm 

Last night there was a spot fire of around 1-acre in the area of north of Klamath River. However, fire crews were able to quickly contain it. As of this morning, the spot fire had both handline and hose all around it. Throughout the rest of the fire, lines held overnight with crews patrolling and looking for heat sources. 

 With the assistance of aircraft, firefighters continue to keep up on their mop-up operations while focusing on limiting the fire in its current footprint. As improvements are made to the constructed handline, crews are focusing on backhauling laid hose in areas where they have mopped up about 150ft in depth or to the extent necessary. Crews stay alert while on patrol looking for any rolling debris that could challenge their line.  

 Severe drought has provided for heavy dry vegetation loads. Known by firefighters as fuel, this includes dead trees, pine needles, leaves, and other dry vegetation. Fire behavior analyst, Dennis Burns, recalled on his patrol of the fire yesterday seeing an oak tree's leaves already changing color- with the fall still 5 weeks away, this is an indicator of severe drought. 

Added to today's incident objectives is to begin suppression repair on those backhauled areas and contingency lines. Fire suppression repair actions are taken to repair fire damages, minimize potential

WEATHER:  
 
Temperatures in the low 90s are expected in low elevations with low relative humidity, keeping the area hot and dry. Winds will be less today. Temperatures are expected to rise to the 100s by the weekend.  

LOCAL ASSISSTANCE CENTER: 

A Local Assistance Center (LAC) will be opening at the College of the Siskiyous Rural Health Sciences Institute in Yreka to serve residents impacted by the McKinney Fire. The LAC is a one-stop-shop for recovery assistance. The address is 2001 Campus Drive Yreka, CA. The times of operation are Wednesday August 17, 9 am to 7 pm and Thursday August 18, 9 am to 7 pm.  
 

EVACUATIONS: 

 
Multiple evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, visit https://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff and https://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountyOES 

Additional evacuation information and a map can be found on the Zonehaven site at: https://community.zonehaven.com/    

A shelter has been established at Karuk Wellness Center at 1403 Kahtishraam, Yreka, CA, 96097. 
Highway 96 remains closed from Highway 263 to Horse Creek through the fire area. 

CURRENT FOREST ORDERS:  

Fire restrictions are in effect on the Klamath National Forest. For more information, visit  

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/klamath/alerts-notices/ 

An emergency area is now in effect for the McKinney, Yeti, and Alex Fires. Please refer to the links below for specific details: 

Closure Info: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1047211.pdf 

Closure Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1047212.pdf 

Pacific Crest Trail Information: https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures