A quick-moving wildfire burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners, forcing evacuations and destroying properties.
The fire rapidly expanded to 6,473 acres, forcing the evacuation Tuesday of the Chinese Camp Town and surrounding highways, according to CalFire. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. The fire is 0% contained. Evacuation orders have been issued.
The blaze, known as the 6-5 Fire, was caused by lightning on Tuesday, according to CalFire.
It is one of several fires called the TCU September Lighting Complex, which has burned more than 19 square miles in multiple locations in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties as of early Wednesday.
At least five homes were burning in the rural town, which has a mix of freestanding and mobile homes.
Outside one house on Tuesday evening, seven people quickly moved large tree branches away from the structure and shoveled sand onto the fire in a desperate attempt to keep the blaze from spreading from the house next door. They worked for about 30 minutes until firefighters arrived. An RV on the property was damaged by the fire.
Fire officials have requested additional resources such as fire engines, dozers and an aircraft.
“The 6-5 Fire in Tuolumne County has grown rapidly today and remains active with no containment,” a CalFire update states. “Mandatory evacuation orders are in place with widespread warnings extending further. Incident Command has requested significant resources, including engines, dozers, crews, and aircraft, as the fire burns at a dangerous rate of spread and threatens multiple structures.”
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