Photographer rescues puppy from home destroyed in McKinney Fire
KLAMATH RIVER, Siskiyou County -- A photojournalist documenting the destruction of the McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County over the weekend rescued a puppy that scampered from the debris of a destroyed home.
On Saturday, Jonathan Rivas was capturing the property damage along Highway 96 in the community of Klamath River, situated along the Klamath River near the Oregon border at about 5:30 a.m.
"As I was setting up for a shot, a puppy came out running from the home that was leveled by the fire," Rivas said in a note accompanying his video footage. "The puppy greeted me with excitement, I was able to save the dog from the unsafe conditions, I fed the puppy treats and gave it water then I took him to a rescue shelter in Yreka, 30 miles from where I originally found the puppy."
Rivas said the puppy was estimated to be about four months old and did not appear to have any injuries other than singed fur and whiskers.
Rivas said the owners of the puppy contacted him to thank him for rescuing their dog, sharing that a family member had died in the fire and they had lost the property they'd had for decades - adding that the puppy was now all they have.
In a statement Monday, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said two bodies were found Sunday inside a charred vehicle located in a residential driveway in the Klamath River community. The victims were not immediately identified.
The McKinney Fire has burned at least 55,493 acres in the Klamath National Forest since it began Friday afternoon and remained 0% contained, according to the U.S Forest Service.
The wildfire is California's largest this year. Drought conditions in the area have led to extremely dry, receptive fuels that have aided in the wildfire's quick spread as well as strong winds and dry lightning, fire officials said.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings for the area due to the threat of dry lightning and strong winds that can cause the fire to spread in any direction and is "extremely dangerous" for firefighters.
As firefighters struggle to contain the blaze they are also dealing with three additional, smaller fires in the county - the China 2 Fire, the Evans Fire and Kelsey Creek fires.
On Saturday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Siskiyou County to utilize more resources to battle the blaze. Newsom confirmed an undisclosed amount of homes had been destroyed due to the wildfire and that 2,000 residents in the county were under evacuation orders.