YREKA, Calif. – The McKinney Fire, the first big wildfire of the season sending smoke into much of Southern Oregon and is forcing evacuations in Siskiyou County.
The Klamath National Forest says since starting in the afternoon of July 29th the fire has exploded in size burning between 30 and 40-thousand acres as of around 2 pm July 30th.
KNF says it has the support of numerous air resources including two VLATs (very large air tankers) and two type one tankers.
Officials say firefighters are doing an aggressive extended attack on the McKinney Fire. It says the fire is zero percent contained and remains an active and dynamic situation.
“We have some of the best firefighters in the world and they are doing their best to get this fire nailed down. Extreme temperatures, low relative humidity, the winds, and the fuel conditions we have out they make for a very volatile weekend ahead of us and the next few days,” said Tom Stokesberry, Public Affairs Specialist for KNF.
KNF says the cause of the fire is still under investigation and there are no reported injuries. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office says because the conditions are rapidly changing people need to pay attention to the latest updates online.
Firefighters and the Sheriff’s Office both saying it’s important Siskiyou County residents stay up to date on the latest evacuation notices.
The best way you can stay up to date on evacuations in Siskiyou County is through the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office and the County’s Office of Emergency Services as well as the Klamath National Forest.
The organizations are posting often on both Facebook and Twitter. Each have links to this evacuation map that is being updated by officials in the area.
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