McKinney Fire: Death Toll Rises To 4 In California's Largest Wildfire

YREKA, CA — The death toll in northern California's McKinney Fire rose to four after authorities said Tuesday they found two more bodies in separate homes.

Search teams found the additional bodies Monday at homes along State Route 96, one of the few roads in and out of the remote region near the Oregon border, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"This brings the confirmed fatality number to 4," the sheriff's statement said. "At this time there are no unaccounted for persons."

The names of the victims weren't immediately released.

The news came after authorities found two bodies inside a burned vehicle in the Klamath National Forest.

The McKinney Fire, which sparked Friday, 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 blaze was still zero percent contained, Cal Fire said.

"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 on Tuesday.

More than 100 homes, sheds and other buildings have burned in the wildfire.

In its latest status update, Cal Fire said fire activity was again mitigated overnight by cloudy, cooler conditions. The blaze did not appear to grow in size.

"Crews were able to work successfully behind the city of Yreka, bringing dozer line along the ridge to protect the structures," Cal Fire said.

Crews also worked to protect buildings near Walker Creek. On the western side of the fire, dozers worked to cut off the fire’s western and southern spread.

A section of Highway 96 remains closed due to the fire.

Multiple evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect affecting about 2,500 people. Many refuse to leave their homes.

Weekend lightning storms also sparked several smaller fires near the McKinney Fire. Despite getting the much-needed moisture, forests and fields in the region remained extremely dry.

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.

Below are more photos of the blaze.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.