SAN JOSE, Calif. — Containment of the deadly McKinney fire — which has killed four people while razing scores of houses in the Klamath National Forest — continued to grow Tuesday, even as firefighters worked through another round of dry and gusty weather.
The McKinney fire was 55% contained Tuesday morning, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service announced. The progress came as firefighters celebrated having cut line around the entire 80-mile perimeter of the 60,389-acre fire — meaning they can focus on mopping up hot spots while working to keep its acreage unchanged, the Forest Service reported.
More hot and dry weather was expected to hit the burn area Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning that will be in effect from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., due to single-digit humidity levels and winds that could gust to 45 mph.
“Large dust devils have been observed and are a hazard to look out for on the fireline from the unstable atmosphere,” the Forest Service wrote in an update Tuesday morning.
The fire, which sparked on July 29 off Highway 96 near McKinney Creed Road near the California-Oregon line, has killed four people while decimating the community of Klamath River. At least 87 houses and 45 other structures were destroyed in the firestorm, which forced thousands of people from their homes across Siskiyou County.
Among the people killed was Kathy Shoopman, a longtime Forest Service fire lookout who refused to leave her house after having been warned to leave, the agency announced this week. The names of the three other people killed in the fire have not been released while local authorities complete DNA testing on each victim.
———
