The blaze exploded in size to more than 80 square miles just two days after erupting in a largely unpopulated area of Siskiyou County, according to a Sunday incident report. The cause was under investigation.
YREKA, Siskiyou County — Crews battling major wildfires in California and Montana worked to protect remote communities on Sunday as hot, windy weather across the tinder-dry West created the potential for even more spread.
The blaze torched trees along California Highway 96, and the scorched remains of a pickup truck sat in a lane of the highway. Thick smoke covered the area and flames burned through hillsides in sight of homes. Several people in the sheriff's office have been affected by evacuation orders due to the fires “and they're still showing up to work so, very dedicated crew,” she said. A deputy lost his childhood home to fire on Friday, she said.
“You look back at the Paradise fire and the Santa Rosa fire and you realize this stuff is very, very serious,” he told the Sacramento Bee. To the south in Idaho, the Moose Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest has burned on more than 75 square miles in timbered land near the town of Salmon. It was 21% contained by Sunday morning. Pila Malolo, planning operations section chief on the fire, said in a Facebook video update that hot, dry conditions were expected to persist Sunday. Officials said they expected fire growth in steep, rugged country on the fire's south side.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Extreme fire behavior': Evacuations in Yreka as McKinney Fire ragesIn just two days, the McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County has blackened between 30,000 and 40,000 acres.
Read more »
Heat, Wind Threaten to Whip Up Growing McKinney FireWildfires in California grew substantially as firefighters protected remote communities on Sunday as hot, windy weather across the tinder-dry U.S. West created the potential for even more spread.
Read more »
Heat, wind threaten to whip up growing Western wildfiresYREKA, Calif. (AP) — Crews battling major wildfires in California and Montana worked to protect remote communities on Sunday as hot, windy weather across the tinder-dry U.S. West created the potential for even more spread.
Read more »
McKinney Fire continues to spread through Northern California, burning through more than 51,000 acresThe McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County had burned through more than 50,000 acres as of Sunday morning and remained 0% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Read more »
2 dead in the McKinney Fire in Northern California, the state's largest blaze this yearDeaths of two people found inside a vehicle blamed on wildfire that in just three days has exploded into California's largest blaze of 2022
Read more »