Erratic winds, dry lightning challenge firefighters as McKinney explodes to more than 50,000 acres

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Fueled by winds, the McKinney Fire — the largest wildfire to date in California this year — blew up for the second straight day on Sunday.

The erratic winds have been whipping up from thunderstorms blowing through the area, and they are challenging firefighting efforts.

The blaze in the Klamath National Forest west of Yreka was at 51,468 acres as of Sunday morning, growing by about 40% overnight, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The McKinney started Friday afternoon and there is zero containment. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Forest Service spokesman Joel Brumm said it's difficult to gauge which direction the fire is burning due to erratic winds from thunderstorms that have been moving in and out of the area.

"So it doesn't seem like a unified wind effect pushing the fire one way or the other," he said early Sunday afternoon.

Smoke from the fire also was creating poor air quality in the area and making it hard for crews to attack the blaze from the air.

At one point mid-afternoon Sunday, a helicopter had to go back to the airport due to low visibility, according to Siskiyou County scanner reports.

County health officials were advising residents to reduce outdoor activities due to the smoky conditions.

A priority for firefighters has been keeping the flames from reaching Yreka, a city of about 8,000 people, and Fort Jones, a town with nearly 600 residents some 15 miles southwest of Yreka. The fire was about 5.5 miles west of Yreka as of Sunday morning.

The Forest Service also said a red flag warning for Sunday brought a threat of more dry lightning and stronger winds.

"These conditions can be extremely dangerous for firefighters, as winds can be erratic and extremely strong, causing fire to spread in any direction," the Forest Service said in its Sunday update.

Crews also were dealing with excessive heat at temperatures hovered around triple digits. The weather is forecast to drop into the low 90s by Monday, the National Weather Service said.

The Forest Service said weather moving through the area sparked other fires: 

• The China 2 Fire, burning two to three miles west of Seiad, was caused by a lightning strike, the Forest Service said. That fire had burned about 350 acres as of Sunday.
• The Shackelford Fire was at 27 acres with zero percent containment as of Sunday.
• Also, the Kelsey Creek Fire, south of the Kelsey Trailhead, had burned about 10 acres and was forcing evacuations, the Forest Service said.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office confirmed that homes have burned along the Highway 96 corridor along the Klamath River.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Courtney Kreider did not know the exact number of structures that had been damaged or destroyed.

There are roughly 400 structures threatened by the fire.

With the explosive growth of the fire, crews were getting help from neighboring Oregon.

The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) was sending three structural task forces to the McKinney Fire.

The units are coming from Marion, Linn and Clackamas counties and will be there to protect communities threatened by the fire.

All told, the three task forces include 41 firefighters, 12 engines, and three water tenders.

They were expected to be in California by late Sunday afternoon.

“Our office has a long-standing mutual aid relationship with Cal OES, and we are more than willing to lend a helping hand,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a news release.

The Forest Service also is getting help from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection crews.

All evacuation orders and warnings remained in place for the McKinney Fire, Amy Travis, of the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services, said Sunday.

"We will re-evaluate those mid-day to see where we are at and where the fire is headed," she said. "At this point in time they are working diligently to put in fire breaks and dozer lines and the prime emphasis is to protect the city of Yreka."

Meanwhile, Interstate 5 in Siskiyou County remained open despite some talk that the fire would close the major freeway.

One the West Coast's major transportation arteries remains open as the McKinney Fire continues to burn west of Yreka in Siskiyou County.

"We have gotten rumors about that, but there are no plans to shut that down," Kreider said Sunday.

However, Highway 96 in the Klamath River basin remains closed from the junction with Highway 263 to about two miles west of the junction with Interstate 5, to Scott River Road.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.