Sylvie Claire / August 1, 2022
A fire, the largest of the year in California, was advancing Sunday through the arid regions of the western U.S. state, fanned by strong winds, destroying homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes, authorities said.
The fire, dubbed McKinney, destroyed more than 20,638 acres of the Klamath National Forest near the northern California town of Yreka, firefighting agency CalFire said. This is the largest wildfire so far this year in California, which has already been hit by several other fires this summer.
State Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday, saying the blaze had destroyed homes and threatened critical infrastructure since it broke out Friday.
The fire has intensified and spread due to dry fuels, extreme dry conditions, high temperatures, winds as well as thunderstorms, Newsom said in a statement.
More than 2,000 residents have been notified of evacuation orders, according to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, primarily in Siskiyou County.
Residents in surrounding areas should be prepared to leave if necessary. Please feel free to evacuate, the county sheriff tweeted.
Yreka resident Larry Castle told the Sacramento Bee newspaper that he and his wife packed a few things and took their three dogs before leaving for the night. Other fires in recent years have taught them that the situation can become very, very serious.
Nearly 650 people were responding to the fire on Sunday, according to the National Wildfire Coordination Group.
The fire season in California, a state in a persistent drought, is expected to last several months. In recent years, California and other parts of the western United States have been ravaged by rapid and large fires due to global warming.