CA Utility Company Sued Over Deadly McKinney Fire

YREKA, CA — Homeowners in Northern California are suing a utility company, saying its equipment sparked the deadly McKinney Fire, according to reports.

The fire has been flagged as the worst wildfire of 2022 after charring 60,389 acres, destroying more than 185 structures and killing four people in the community of Klamath River.

Five homeowners are suing PacifiCorp, the utility in question, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The U.S. Forest Service has not yet identified what ignited the fire, but PacifiCorp released a statement Aug. 4, announcing that it has distribution lines in the area. The utility filed the document with the Public Utilities Commission and said it was announcing the lines "out of an abundance of caution."

Utilities are required under state law to submit such a document if it is possible that their equipment sparked a wildfire.

The McKinney Fire, which erupted July 29, has swelled to more than 55,000 acres and continued to burned out of control Tuesday morning near Highway 96 and McKinney Creed Rd, southwest of Klamath River.

The fire was 95 percent contained as of Tuesday, fire officials reported.

"It's really tragic when a fire gets up and moves this fast and basically takes out a community. And that's what happened in the Klamath River area," Mike Lindbery, a spokesperson with the fire's incident management team, told The Associated Press earlier this month.

Multiple evacuation orders and warnings affected at least 2,500 people. Many refused to leave their homes.

Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.