McKinney Fire, 2022
The McKinney Fire started in the Klamath National Forest on July 29, 2022. A Forest Service report concluded that a tree touching a PacifiCorp power line was the probable cause. It burned 60,138 acres, destroyed 185 structures and killed four people.
- Where
- Siskiyou County, in the Klamath National Forest along Highway 96
- Utility
- PacifiCorp
- Record
- Found by investigators
- Started on
- Distribution line
- Acres burned
- 60,138
Source: CAL FIRE
- Days to containment
- Not published
- Structures destroyed
- 185
Found by investigators
The agency that investigated the fire found that the utility's equipment started it.
A U.S. Forest Service origin and cause report concluded that "a tree coming in contact with a power line is the probable cause", PacifiCorp's parent company reports. CAL FIRE, which did not lead on this fire, still lists the cause as under investigation.
Sources: Berkshire Hathaway Energy, filed with the SEC; CAL FIRE
Distribution line
A lower-voltage line that carries power along streets and roads to homes and businesses.
PacifiCorp's 12.5 kV distribution circuit 5G40, out of the Scott Bar substation.
What happened
- Started
July 29, 2022, at 2:16 p.m., at Highway 96 and McKinney Creek Road.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Damage
185 structures destroyed, homes among them, and 11 damaged; 12 injuries and four deaths. These are third-party reports, as PacifiCorp's parent company cites them.
- Evacuations
All evacuations within the fire's footprint were lifted on August 18, 2022.
Source: CAL FIRE
What it cost
- Paid by PacifiCorp
$227 million in McKinney settlements with individuals, families of those killed, insurers, timber owners and some government claimants. Settlements have been reached with substantially all the plaintiffs.
- Federal settlement
PacifiCorp's $575 million settlement with the United States, approved in February 2026, covers six fires, McKinney among them, and is not broken out by fire.
Not published
We looked for these and found no source that publishes them:
- When the fire was contained
- How many people were evacuated
- How many households never returned
- Insured losses for this fire