Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka, Calif., began transferring patients to other facilities July 30 as the McKinney Fire became the state's largest wildfire of the year so far.
Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency July 30 for Siskiyou County, for which Fairchild Medical Center is the main hospital. That day, when the hospital began transferring patients, the fire was burning about 9 miles from Yreka.
Fairchild Medical Center said patients were transferred "out of an abundance of caution." The critical access hospital and its emergency department remain open. Patients will be evaluated and either admitted or transferred to an out-of-area facility if needed, including as far as Sacramento, which is nearly 260 miles away, The Sacramento Bee reports.
The McKinney Fire began burning July 29 in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, which is near the Oregon state line. The blaze grew to more than 52,000 acres in two days, becoming the largest California wildfire so far this year and forcing nearly 3,000 people to evacuate. As of July 31, no deaths or injuries associated with the fire had been reported, The New York Times reports.