Dry, gusty conditions forecast as McKinney Fire containment reaches 40% in Northern California

Firefighters this weekend continued to increase containment of the deadly McKinney Fire near the California-Oregon state line, though gusty winds and dry weather are expected to test crews further Sunday as they work to snuff the state’s largest fire of 2022.

Containment of the McKinney Fire – which has burned across 60,271 acres while killing four people living along Highway 96 in Siskiyou County – increased to 40% on Sunday morning, up from 30% Saturday, according to Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. The progress came as the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for dry and gusty conditions on Sunday afternoon and evening over the burn area, adding yet another hurdle to firefighters in the area who have already dealt with lightning, flash flooding and thunderstorm-fueled winds over the last week.

On Saturday night, crews continued to make progress cutting lines around the fire, said Rick Carhart, a Cal Fire spokesman.

“A lot of what they’re doing is just really just buttoning up some of the very few open lines we have left on the fire,” Carhart said. “So there aren’t that many places on the fire that, right now, there’s a lot of active burning.”

But relative humidity levels could dip into the single digits from 2-8 p.m. Sunday, while southerly winds of 10 to 15 mph could gust to 25 mph, the weather service reported. And crews are watching to make sure no hot spots flare past containment lines.

“That will be the big wind and weather test of the work we’ve done on the fire,” Carhart said.

Also, for the first time in more than a week, lightning-charged thunderstorms are not expected to hit the area – meaning more fire crews can focus on wrangling the McKinney Fire, as opposed to peeling off and quickly dousing newly-ignited fires.

“We’re ready for a break from that (lightning), and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for at least the next few days. That’s at least our saving grace right now,” said Christine Riley, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The fire, which ignited July 29 near Highway 96 and McKinney Creed Road in Siskiyou County, destroyed 87 homes and 45 other structures, according to Cal Fire. Much of that destruction happened in the now-decimated community of Klamath River. The flames also forced thousands of other people from their homes, while also threatening the tourist haven of Yreka.

The blaze ranks as the largest of a series of fires to hit the northernmost part of the state, many of which were sparked during recent monsoon-season thunderstorms.

The Yeti Complex, which is burning near the Seiad Valley to the west of the McKinney Fire, grew to 7,870 acres as of Sunday morning, according to the Forest Service. It is 19% contained, though crews appear to be making progress as the fire backs downhill to the Highway 96 corridor, said Shawn Burt, operations section chief for crews battling the fire, during a morning video briefing.

“Everything is looking pretty good, currently,” Burt said.

To the south in Humboldt County, the Six Rivers Lighting Complex has burned 1,101 acres near Willow Creek, the Forest Service reported. It consists of a dozen fires that sparked during storms that moved through the area on Friday.