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CHINESE CAMP, Calif. (KFSN) -- A question of lightning strikes ignited dozens of wildfires crossed Tuolumne and Calaveras counties this week, leaving down a way of demolition successful the historical municipality of Chinese Camp.
Once a bustling Gold Rush colony founded successful the 1850s by Chinese miners, Chinese Camp present lies successful ruins-its centuries-old structures reduced to smoldering rubble, charred vehicles, and scorched earth.
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A heavy unreality of fume continues to bent implicit the area, a haunting reminder of the town's abrupt devastation.
"This is simply a batch of past that was lost," a CAL FIRE firefighter said. "It ne'er gets casual coming up and seeing idiosyncratic suffer their home."
Randall Hoffman, a homeowner successful the area, narrowly escaped the flames.
"I ended up coming location conscionable successful clip to soak down successful beforehand of my property," helium said. "The occurrence had traveled each the mode down from the mountain, astir 3 miles successful 10 minutes and blew crossed the roadworthy astatine astir 40 miles an hour."
Hoffman was 1 of the fortunate few.
"Armageddon. It's not precise good," helium added. "Devastation, utter. I deliberation we mislaid 95% of the town."
The fires were sparked connected Tuesday during a uncommon lightning lawsuit that saw an estimated 16,000 strikes successful conscionable a fewer hours. CAL FIRE officials accidental astatine slightest 22 fires were ignited crossed the region.
MAP: See wherever California wildfires are burning close now
David Acuna with CAL FIRE described the antithetic quality of the storm.
"I was really driving done that lightning tempest astir 3 successful the morning. It was hitting some the occidental and eastbound mountains, which is wherefore we person fires from Coalinga, each the mode up present successful Tuolumne and Calaveras."
Fire crews are battling the blazes some connected the crushed and from the air. Water tankers person been making repeated trips to Don Pedro Lake to refill for aerial drops.
Hundreds of residents person been forced to evacuate. The Red Cross has opened shelters successful Sonora and Angels Camp to accommodate the displaced.
The fires are impacting not conscionable section residents but besides visitors and spot owners from surrounding cities similar Merced, Modesto, Turlock, and Oakdale.
Doug Fluetsch, who owns a compartment successful the area, is intimately monitoring the fire's path.
"Highway 108, Jamestown, Tuolumne, that's a recreational spot for many. All those areas are present impacted," helium said.
Hot, adust conditions and beardown upwind gusts person contributed to the accelerated dispersed of the fires.
Firefighters accidental the coming days volition bring adjacent much challenges, including steep terrain and the menace of caller ignitions.
It's besides excessively soon to cognize however galore structures were destroyed but CAL FIRE says it's trying to get estimates to the nationalist arsenic soon arsenic possible.
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