The largest wildfire in California this year “catastrophically destroyed” the gold rush town of Greenville on Wednesday night, then forced the closure of a national park on Thursday while also chasing residents from their homes across the northern Sierra Nevada region.
The Dixie Fire, now the sixth-largest blaze in the state’s modern history, has been burning for three weeks and spreading in Northern California’s Plumas, Butte, Lassen and Tehama counties. The blaze has already destroyed at least 67 structures, though fire crews have yet to include the damage in Greenville.
Firefighters were bracing for another explosive run of flames Thursday, fueled by strong wind gusts and bone dry vegetation caused by the drought. Red flag weather conditions of high heat, low humidity and a gusty afternoon, with winds as strong as 35 mph, were expected to be a continued threat through Thursday night.
