8 a.m. Sunday UPDATE

The fire grew overnight to 51,468 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said.

“Fire growth is expected to spread in all directions as red flag Warning for thunderstorms and lightning are in the forecast,” the Forest Service said in its Sunday morning update. 

The fire is still 1% contained.

Meanwhile, the Shackleford Fire, which started Saturday night, is at 27 acres with zero percent containment.

All evacuation orders and warnings remain in place for the McKinney Fire, said Amy Travis of the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services.

“We will re-evaluate those mid-day to see where we are at and where the fire is headed,” she said. “At this point in time they are working diligently to put in fire breaks and dozer lines and the prime emphasis is to protect the city of Yreka.”

#McKinneyFire (Klamath NF, Siskiyou Co) – 51,468 acres per the updated mapping that was done @ midnight. At that time, fire is ~5.5 miles W/NW of #Yreka, ~9 miles N/O Fort Jones, ~3.7 miles N/E of Scott Bar (town), ~6.25 miles west of Hwy 96 & Hwy 263 intersection. pic.twitter.com/yz2Ooe6Q4K— CA Fire Scanner (@CAFireScanner) July 31, 2022

Here’s the timelapse. I avoided the temptation to add a Stranger Things sound to it, although it fits that vibe. pic.twitter.com/CAkNkdkQFu

— Josh Levinger (@jlev) July 31, 2022

Crazy footage of firefighters escorting residents out of the McKinney fire last night. The fire pushed hard into the evening. Today, due to visibility, tankers have been diverted to the nearby China 2 fire. 🙏to a subscriber for this footage #mcKinneyfire #cali #fire #california pic.twitter.com/SDUQzncztM

— TheHotshotWakeUp: Podcast (@HotshotWake) July 30, 2022

As of 11:30 AM the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office is upgrading the following Zones to a MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER for McAdams Creek Road to Tyler Gulch Road. This is Zone SIS-2004 & SIS-2007, south of current Evacuation Orders, towards Highway 3. **PLEASE LEAVE IMMEDIATELY*

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Firefighters are battling the McKinney Fire, the China Peak Fire and the Evans Peak Fire north and south of Highway 96, at Seiad and east to Yreka.

The McKinney Fire is burning in the Oak Knoll Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest, west of the Walker Creek Bridge on the south side of the Klamath River.

The McKinney Fire started about 2:15 p.m. Friday and as of Saturday morning there was zero containment. Highway 96 is closed from Highway 263, about 2 miles west of Interstate 5, to Scott River Road.

Go here for the latest evacuation orders and warnings.

9:15 a.m. Saturday UPDATE

Winds from late-evening thunderstorms caused the McKinney Fire to grow significantly overnight, causing the blaze to expand to 18,000 acres, according to Klamath National Forest officials.

The fire grew on the north and south sides as air tankers dropped fire retardant.

Very hot temperatures are in the forecast and a Red Flag Warning is in effect for lightning, fire officials said.

“Fire managers are expecting a very dynamic day on the fire as predicted weather is expected to be problematic for the firefighters,” officials said.

Crews have had to shift from trying to hold the fire’s perimeter to concentrate on evacuations and defend structures.

More firefighting resources are being dispatched to the area. Several bulldozers were being sent to McAdams Road and Highway 3 on Saturday morning.

A California Incident Management Team was in Yreka on Saturday for briefings and will assume control on Sunday morning, officials said.

This is an extremely dangerous and fast spreading fire. Go to Zonehaven for evacuation information including available routes out.