YREKA, Calif. – The McKinney Fire is still raging through The Klamath National Forest, growing to around 51,000 acres.
The Forest Service says its biggest worry is the risk of thunderstorms in the area. It says there are still lightning fires in the area from the night of July 30th.
The Klamath National Forest says the communities of Fort Jones and Yreka are most at risk from the McKinney Fire.
“We’ve been dealing with the dry conditions across the state all summer long so these were not a surprise to us. We are also looking at convective thunderstorm activity however when you but those two things together you have the risk of rapid fire growth and that’s what we are seeing here,” said Adrienne Freeman of the U.S. Forest Service.
Freeman says firefighters have had trouble getting aircraft into the air because of thick heavy smoke.
She says because of the low air flow the fire is spreading slower than in previous days. The McKinney fire just started on July 29th.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.