Two dead found inside vehicle in Northern California’s McKinney Fire zone, officials say

The bodies of two people were found inside a burned out vehicle in a residential driveway inside the McKinney Fire zone in Northern California on Sunday, officials said, the first fatalities from the state’s largest wildfire of the year so far.

Siskiyou County sheriff’s officials said the bodies were found at 9:57 a.m. in a driveway off Doggett Creek Road, off Highway 96 west of the community of Klamath River.

“It was our belief that the occupants of the vehicle fleeing the fire didn’t have time to get out and unlock the gate (and) tried to ram the gate,” Sgt. Jeff Moser of the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

“The gate did not open. They backed up and drove off the driveway, getting stuck.”

No identities or further information was released pending notification of next of kin.

As of early Monday, the fire has burned 55,493 acres — about 86 square miles — west and northwest of Yreka and has forced the evacuations of 2,000 people, and firefighters were battling to keep the blaze from moving toward Yreka, 5 1/2 miles away as of Sunday.

Firefighters had zero containment on the blaze as of Sunday, and Yreka police issued a warning Sunday night against anyone entering evacuated areas of the city.

“The Yreka Police Department is working with multiple law enforcement agencies to keep properties secured, and as of July 31st at 4 p.m. we have 24 law enforcement officers patrolling the city of Yreka,” the department said in a Facebook post.

Early Monday morning, sheriff’s deputies announced two people had been arrested inside the evacuated area — one on suspicion of possessing burglary tools, the other for burglary inside a closed disaster area.

The suspects’ names weren’t provided.

“California law defines the crime of looting as taking advantage of a state of emergency to commit burglary, grand theft or petty theft,” Yreka police said in a message posted on its Facebook page. “Looting and entry into the evac zone will NOT be tolerated and will be handled accordingly by all our officers.”

The U.S. Forest Service said early Monday firefighters are concerned about the possibility of “abundant lightning” strikes from thunderstorms. The storms could bring wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph.

“Above normal temperatures and low relative humidity will increase the drying of the receptive fuel bed,” the agency said.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for most of Siskiyou and Modoc counties, as well as southern Oregon, in place from noon through 11 p.m. Monday.

This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 5:26 AM with the headline "Two dead found inside vehicle in Northern California’s McKinney Fire zone, officials say."