A lightning-caused wildfire continued to rip through Northern California with zero containment on Sept. 3 after destroying homes in the historic gold mining town of Chinese Camp, California.
The blaze was one of nearly two dozen fires burning in the region about 120 miles east of San Francisco.
Flames moved quickly across the Sierra Nevada and into the state’s historic gold rush region, reaching homes in Chinese Camp the first night.
Nearly 640 firefighters were assigned to the fire.
Several residential areas around the fire remained under evacuation orders and warnings.
The fire spread quickly in dry tall grass, brush, and timber over challenging terrain. Fire crews were forced to hike to many remote locations, officials said.
The exact number of homes and structures destroyed in the Chinese Camp community was not yet known.
It was unclear how many of the town’s gold rush-era structures, including an 1854 post office, were also damaged. Other buildings include a Catholic church built in 1855 and the town’s general store and tavern built in 1934.
A damage inspection team was ordered to assess the destruction.
Former resident Randy Simpson said he hoped that his former neighbors in the tight-knit community are safe.
“I hear ... my old house is still standing.”
About 100 residents were evacuated and the main highway between San Francisco and Yosemite National Park was closed by fire officials on the first day.
The Chinese Camp Elementary School was not damaged, according to CalFire.
Gusty winds continued to be a challenge to crews as the blaze threatened multiple communities, including ancestral tribal lands, according to fire officials. Temperatures around the fire region were expected to linger in the 90s over the next few days with little rain in sight.
The miners, who were mostly Cantonese from Guangdong Province, settled in nearby Camp Washington, where they felt safe. More Chinese miners came to live in the camp, and it became known as “Chinese Camp.”
By 1860, Chinese settlers owned 10 boarding houses. Six cooks, two barbers, three saloon keepers, four bakers, two tailors, seven herb doctors, a grocer, and a musician were among the Chinese people serving hundreds of local miners and residents, according to the county.
They also had a school and a cemetery, but most of their final remains were sent by the community back to their homeland in China, as was their tradition.
Today, only about 60 residents live in the community, according to the latest census. The community produces lumber for cedar fences. It is near a handful of family-operated cattle and livestock ranches and a biomass plant.
