Crews fighting McKinney Fire take advantage of favorable weather while they can

YREKA, Calif. – Favorable weather has allowed crews to build control lines around a wildfire threatening the communities of Yreka and Fort Jones in Northern California.

The McKinney Fire started in the Klamath National Forest near Yreka on July 29 and exploded to 18,000 acres by the next day, pushing smoke over the majority of Southern Oregon and triggering evacuation orders in the Yreka area. The latest report released by CALFIRE on Tuesday afternoon indicates the fire covered an estimated 56,165 acres.

Lower temperatures and higher relative humidity in recent days, including rain over some areas over the fire, helped to moderate fire behavior and allowed crews to assume a more direct approach to fighting the fire.

On the west side of the fire close to Yreka, crews started creating a direct line against the fire while weather conditions are favorable.

It’s still not clear how many structures were lost to the McKinney Fire.

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, investigators said it appears it wasn’t started by lightning.