Dixie Fire Levels Greenville, Quiet California Town With Roots Dating Back to the Gold Rush

A quiet mountain town in California with roots dating back to the Gold Rush has been destroyed by wildfire.

The Dixie fire, California’s largest wildfire, gutted the town center of Greenville, levelling businesses and homes to the ground.

“One hour it was here, the next hour the whole town was gone,” storm chaser Brandon Clement said. He shot video of the fire engulfing homes and a car. “The fire was absolutely out of control.”

He gave Inside Edition a smoky tour of Main Street today.

“There’s nothing left, just tarred ashes and remains,” he said, showing a hotel built in the 1800’s that was totally demolished. “A lot of history around here. When I say there’s nothing left, there’s nothing, nothing at all.”

The heat of the fire was so strong that it twisted a metal streetlamp into a shell of itself.

“This is what the heat will do,” he said. “This is a metal streetlight just wilted over like a dead flower. It's very sad.”

Amazingly, firefighters managed to rescue an American flag from the area and carefully loaded it onto a firetruck, all the while surrounded by flames.

“Say goodbye to Greenville for now,” one resident posted on Facebook. “It doesn’t look good at all. Fire all around us. Flames everywhere.”

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