McKinney and Yeti Fires – August 6, 2022 – WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MASSIVE FISH KILL ON KLAMATH RIVER

McKinney and Yeti fires
Maps and Captions: Ryan Stephens and Zeke Lunder
Yeti photos and on the ground Yeti fire info: Jamie Allen

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF MASSIVE FISH KILL ON KLAMATH RIVER

Table of Contents:

1. Zeke’s Video Briefing on YouTube
2. Debris Flows and Fish Kill
3. McKinney and Yeti Fire Weather Forecast
4. McKinney Fire
5. Yeti Fire

Debris and mud flows:

Devastating news coming from friends in the Klamath and Salmon River watersheds of severe impacts to fish and aquatic life following heavy debris and mud flows following intense rain storms in and around the Klamath National Forest. We posted videos from fire personnel getting stuck in the flash flooding and debris flow from these storms on 8/2.

The torrential rainfall caused the flow of the Klamath River to briefly DOUBLE. Here is a stream gauge graph from Seiad Valley as the runoff pulse moved through.

A large amount of the debris in the Klamath River came out of Humbug Creek, a salmon-bearing tributary to the Klamath River which drains the area west of Yreka, south of the Klamath River. We found this video on the Facebook account of a firefighter who was passing thru the area the next morning.

These satellite images, captured on August 5, 2022 were processed by The Lookout to show burn severity (browns and yellows burned hot). They show the extent of high-severity burn in Humbug Creek.

This image looks up Barkhouse Creek over its confluence with the Klamath River. This area burned in the McKinney Fire’s initial run.

The photo, taken by Zack Taylor, shows large amounts of sediment at the mouth of Barkhouse Creek.

Official Karuk Tribe press advisory:

Pictures sent to us by Jamie Allen of Seiad Valley, CA. Photos taken downriver from Sluice Box and Seiad Creek in Seiad Valley, CA:

Photo by Stormi Staats, 8/6/2022.

McKinney and Yeti Fire Weather Forecast:

—McKinney Fire—

To better understand what’s happening around the fire and in our maps, click here to watch the USFS Friday, August 6 McKinney fire operational update from KNF facebook page. Here’s the Forest Service/Cal Fire map for the fire below:

McKinney Fire Behavior Forecast:

McKinney Infrared Lookout Maps:

*Lookout fire maps are high resolution. Click maps to open them in a separate window, where you can zoom and scroll. This can be helpful for viewing our maps on cell phones*

LOOKOUT MAP KEY:

Areas shaded RED are where the fire is most active. Areas shaded YELLOW are where the fire is cooling down.
Between the RED & WHITE perimeter lines show 24 hours growth as of 10:30pm yesterday (August 5).
Areas shaded in BLUE are wildfires from previous years.

—Yeti Fire (previously China2)—

Yeti Fire Severity

Here is a August 5, 2022 satellite image processed by The Lookout to show fire severity. Greenish/blue areas still have intact tree canopy. Brown areas burned hot.

The fire is burning with mixed severity across a wide range of aspects (slope directions) and vegetation types.

This image shows fire backing down toward the river, with higher-severity burns on the upper slopes, and low-severity burn dominating the lower, more shaded north-facing areas of the slope.

Yeti Fire photos from yesterday:

To better understand what’s happening around the fire, CLICK HERE to watch today’s KNF Operations briefing.

Yeti Fire Behavior Forecast:

Yeti Infrared Lookout Maps:

*Lookout fire maps are high resolution. Click the maps to open them in a separate window, where you can zoom and scroll. This can be helpful for viewing our maps on cell phones*

LOOKOUT MAP KEY:Areas shaded Red show where the fire is most active. Areas shaded YELLOW are where the fire is cooling down.
Between the RED & WHITE perimeter lines show 24 hours growth as of 10:30pm yesterday, August 5.
Areas shaded in BLUE and LIGHT GREEN are wildfires from previous years.

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