The blaze, known as the McKinney Fire, had burned more than 51,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon.
According to CAL FIRE. It contains 0%.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced
Emergency In Siskiyou County on Saturday, wildfires threatened critical infrastructure and forced nearly 2,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
The McKinney Fire started Friday in Siskiyou County, near the California-Oregon border, about four hours north of Sacramento. The Klamath National Forest listed the cause of the fire as under investigation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Siskiyou County has a population of just 44,000.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for parts of Siskiyou County on Saturday
Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. Residents within the evacuation zone are asked to “please evacuate immediately.”
About 60 people were evacuated Saturday from the Pacific Crest Trail because of the McKinney Fire, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon said.
said on its verified Facebook page, hikers were rescued from the “California side of the Red Buttes Wilderness.” According to the Forest Service, the Pacific Crest Trail runs from the Mexican border through California, Oregon and Washington to Canada.
A red flag warning, indicating dangerous fire conditions, remains in effect for the area until Sunday night.
According to the National Weather Service. “Extensive lightning” is expected through Monday, as well as scattered thunderstorms, the weather service said, “which may contribute to fire spread” but also bring “locally significant wetting rain” to some areas.
Firefighters were forced to shift their tactics from an “offensive perimeter control effort” to a defensive posture to assist evacuations Saturday morning, the InciWeb report noted.
Two other fires burning in Siskiyou County — the China 2 and Evans fires — combined to burn more than 300 acres, prompting evacuation warnings for more than 200 residents, the governor’s office said.
The governor’s office said the state of emergency is to allow firefighters from other states to help fight fires in California.
CNN’s Michelle Watson and David Williams contributed to this report.
