California's Dixie Fire Decimates Historic Sierra Nevada Town
Josh Edelson/Getty Images A home is engulfed in flames as the Dixie fire rages on in Greenville, California on August 5, 2021. The largest wildfire in California has razed a small town, warping street lights and destroying historic buildings hours after residents were ordered to flee. Greenville, an Indian Valley settlement of a few hundred people dating back to the mid-1800s Gold Rush, was engulfed by flames as winds whipped the inferno towards the community, turning the sky orange.
One of the largest wildfires in California history has destroyed a historic Gold Rush town in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Dixie Fire has been burning for over three weeks and has already claimed more than 462,000 acres of land across two Northern California counties. The fire was 35% contained on Friday morning, Cal Fire reported.
Josh Edelson/Getty Images A fire-damaged street sign marks Main Street in a decimated downtown Greenville, California during the Dixie fire on August 5, 2021.
This marks the second time that Greenville, California — a tiny town of approximately 1,000 residents — has been decimated by a fire. A fire on Main Street destroyed several buildings in 1881, but a few historic structures managed to survive that blaze, the town Chamber of Commerce said. Among them: two warehouses, an auto shop, and a candy store that eventually became a pool hall and burned down in 1912.
The town quickly rebuilt, but the Dixie Fire ripped through many historic structures as well as more than 100 homes. "Our historical buildings, families' homes, small businesses, and our children's schools are completely lost," Plumas County supervisor Kevin Goss wrote on Facebook.
Firefighters were able to save some of the town's historic structures, but the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, the Associated Press reported. A local utility company told the AP that it believes a tree may have fallen on a power line.
Local officials have been warning people to evacuate the area as unpredictable local weather has complicated firefighting efforts.
"If a plume of smoke is anywhere near your direction, and you're still miles away from it, you need to prepare [to leave], even if you haven't heard that you are under a warning," Plumas County sheriff Todd Johns told CNN.
Some firefighters have struggled to get people to leave, with one local emergency management official telling the AP that some residents have pulled guns on firefighters trying to evacuate them from the area.
Meena Thiruvengadam is a Travel + Leisure contributor who has visited 47 U.S. states and 50 countries on six continents. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
