Explosive growth of the deadly McKinney fire was driven by a perfect storm of extreme heat, dry vegetation, steep terrain and erratic winds.
The hikers were rescued on the California side of the trail at Red Buttes Wilderness as the McKinney fire continues to ravage Klamath National Forest.
“It happened so fast,” said Sherri Marchetti-Perrault. “We left with the clothes on our back. We couldn’t breathe and we couldn’t see.”More than 100 buildings are presumed destroyed, but the exact number remains unknown, as heat and flames have forced some assessment teams to retreat as fires have re-ignited. Officials warn also that nearly 5,000 structures remain threatened by the blaze and 3,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate.
In addition, firefighters were battling the 1,989-acre China 2 fire west of Seiad Valley and the 140-acre Alex fire above Doggett Creek, officials said.Thunderstorms can generate gusty winds that blow in different directions, which Nieuwenhuis likened to blowing on a campfire. That can strengthen the updraft created by a large fire, which in turn can cause even more thunderstorms to develop, he said.
Schwander, who is an artist, said she had almost nothing left save for the clothes on her back and the handful of family photos she grabbed before she fled on Saturday with her three Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Among the items lost to the fire were original paintings, photographs from her childhood and an antique rocking horse that, according to family lore, Richard Nixon rode on as a baby. Her daughter, who lives nearby, managed to save a trunk full of jewelry.
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