Tuolm County, Calif. (AP) – One of almost 20 fires burning in Northern California on Wednesday A burnt house in Gold Rush Town It was settled in the 1850s by thousands of Chinese miners who were kicked out of nearby camps.
Rapid fires in the Sierra Nevada hills threatened a small number of historic structures remaining in Chinese camps, forcing around 100 residents to evacuate and shut down the highway, the main route between San Francisco and Yosemite National Park.
It is not yet clear whether any of the town’s handful of Gold Rush-era structures, including the Post Office and the Roman Catholic Church, were damaged by fire that erupted Tuesday and burned uncontained.
Numerous lightning strikes early Tuesday caused at least 22 fires that burned 19 square miles (50 square kilometers) in Calaveras, Tuolum and Stanislaus counties, said Emily Kilgore, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire spreads throughout the area about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of San Francisco. There were no reports of injuries, but two fires destroyed several structures, Kilgore said Wednesday. Damage assessment has not been completed.
Many of the fires are located in remote areas and in heavy-duty areas, with some having extremely difficult access, Kilgore said.
“There may still be some fires that have not been discovered yet,” Kilgore said. Temperatures were expected to rain in the 90s over the next few days.
The largest fire burns around 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) and centers around camps in China, with at least five homes burning in the town, with a mix of freestanding and mobile homes.
Outside one house on Tuesday night, seven people left the big tree branches and squeezed the sand into the fire in desperate attempts to prevent flames from spreading from the neighboring house until firefighters arrived. A recreational vehicle on the facility has been damaged.
Now a pass-through for tourists traveling to Yosemite, the Chinese camps flourished in the 1850s as stagecoach stops for mining camps during the gold rush.
Thousands of Chinese people came to California during the gold rush and faced persecution, including an outrageous outside miner tax, designed to keep them away from mining.
According to a visit to Tuolumne County, the town grew as Chinese miners who had been kicked out of nearby camps arrived. Originally called Camp Washington, its name was quickly changed, reflecting thousands of people from China who settled there.
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Blumfield was reported from Cockiesville, Maryland. Associated Press Reporter John Sheewer from Toledo, Ohio contributed.
