‘GET OUT IMMEDIATELY’

Evacuations Ordered as Northern California Wildfire Gathers Strength

The Head Fire burned near the site of a 2022 killer blaze.

A wildfire fueled by thunderstorm winds tore through national forest land in Northern California on Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders. The Head Fire in Siskiyou County near the border with Oregon was one of at least 19 fires that erupted in the Klamath National Forest, with rough estimates late Tuesday putting the fire at between 3,000 and 4,000 acres. “If you are in this area, please get out immediately,” forest supervisor Rachel Smith wrote in a warning on Facebook. No injuries have been reported, but the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuation in several areas. The Head Fire was burning close to the site of the McKinney Fire, which broke out in the Klamath National Forest in July 2022 and ultimately killed four people and destroyed the community of Klamath River.