Raging wildfire in California ravages tiny historic town

A gas station, hotel and bar were among many fixtures gutted in the town, which dates to California’s Gold Rush era.

A three-week-old wildfire engulfed a tiny Northern California mountain town, wiping out historic buildings and leaving much of the downtown in ashes, while a new wind-whipped blaze also destroyed homes as crews braced for another explosive run of flames on Thursday in the midst of dangerous weather. The Dixie Fire, swollen by bone-dry vegetation and 64kmph (40mph) gusts, raged through the northern Sierra Nevada community of Greenville on Wednesday evening. A gas station, hotel and bar were among many fixtures gutted in the town, which dates to California’s Gold Rush era and has some structures more than a century old. Plumas County Supervisor Kevin Goss wrote on Thursday on Facebook that the fire “burnt down our entire downtown. Our historical buildings, families homes, small businesses, and our children’s schools are completely lost.”