Darn . . . the McKinney Fire Closes The PCT and Much More
From its start on Friday, the McKinney Fire in Northern California had burned 30,000 acres by mid-day Saturday and 51,500 acres by Sunday morning and shows no sign of slowing. A 110-mile section of the PCT has been closed by the Forest Service (from Etna Summit at mile 1600 to the Mt. Ashland Campground at mile 1710).
The McKinney Fire is burning north of Etna and Fort Jones, California. The China 2 Fire is burning ~2 miles west of the community Seiad Valley. The weather conditions, including lots of lightning, are leading to extreme fire behavior and dangerous conditions.
Over the weekend, many PCT hikers were evacuated from the trail. The Jackson County Search and Rescue teams reported rescuing dozens of hikers and transporting them by bus to safety.
Excessive heat, winds, and now lightning promise to exacerbate the situation. So as we begin August, fire has once again impacted the wild lands of the West and the PCT experience of many.
Despite drought conditions in Northern California, late rains and snow through June and even early July gave us some hope that this kind of fire would not happen so soon. However, the other reality of climate change is the excessively hot and dry days that quickly dry out vegetation and create conditions prime for such a fire. Over the past week, temps have soared to as high as 115 in the valleys.
