California's largest fire of 2022 out of control

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(1 Aug 2022)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4390913
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Yreka, California – 31 July 2022
1. Various fire burning in forest
HEADLINE TEXT: California's largest fire of 2022 out of control
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrienne Freeman, US Forest Service Spokesperson:
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"We don't have a cause yet. It is yet undetermined. We do have a lot of other fires that are lightning starts. Those we can confirm. One of those is the China fire, which is burning just west of the McKinney Fire is currently at about 400 acres."
3. Smoke in air
4. Smoke rising from trees on mountain
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrienne Freeman, US Forest Service Spokesperson:
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"The thunderstorms coming into the area, you know, the threat of those is erratic fire spread. But it means that we can't predict which way the fire is going to go. When those thunder cells collapse, they tend to drive the fire in all directions. Obviously, that's a threat to firefighters. It also can cause that rapid fire growth."
6. Wide, foundation of destroyed home
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrienne Freeman, US Forest Service Spokesperson:
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"So about 1,300 residents are evacuated. We can confirm that there are structures destroyed. However, we haven't been able to get teams in there to assess. So at this point, really don't have numbers or locations."
8. Closer shot of foundation of destroyed home
9. Chimney and ruins of home standing
10. Destroyed pickup truck
11. Destroyed SUV
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrienne Freeman, US Forest Service Spokesperson:
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"I think the biggest thing for us to think about is how dry these conditions are. Lightning isn't unusual on the Klamath. What is something to consider is that every strike has a greater potential right now to start a fire. So we are responding aggressively with Cal Fire to all of these as they come up and we are continuing to detect new fires, even as we're actively engaged with the McKiney and the China."
13. Farm animals near smoke
14. Various bus destroyed by fire
15. Destroyed home
16. Pan, burned trees
STORYLINE:
Crews battling the largest wildfire so far this year in California braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that created the potential for additional fire growth Sunday as they sought to protect remote communities.
The McKinney Fire was burning out of control in Northern California's Klamath National Forest, with expected thunderstorms a big concern Sunday just south of the Oregon state line, said U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman.
"The fuel beds are so dry and they can just erupt from that lightning," Freeman said. "These thunder cells come with gusty erratic winds that can blow fire in every direction."
The blaze exploded in size to more than 80 square miles (207 square km) just two days after erupting in a largely unpopulated area of Siskiyou County, according to a Sunday incident report. The cause was under investigation.
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. The fire Sunday cast an eerie, orange-brown hue, in one neighborhood where a brick chimney stood surrounded by rubble and scorched vehicles.
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, (a) very dedicated crew," she said. A deputy lost his childhood home to fire on Friday, she said.
Production: Rodrique Ngowi
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