A wildfire is burning through northern California, with it almost taking out the 800-person mountain town of Greenville, NBC News reports.
What’s being called the Dixie Fire set downtown Greenville ablaze on Wednesday, burning down businesses, gas stations, and homes. Thankfully no injuries have yet been reported.
Earlier that day, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office cautioned residents against staying in the area. “If you are still in the Greenville area, you are in imminent danger and you MUST leave now!” the warning said.
Despite the alert, many residents didn’t evacuate the town, forcing firefighters to rescue them instead of preventing the fire from overtaking the town’s structures, according to Jake Cagle, who is an incident management team operations section chief.
The Dixie Fire has been burning since July 14, engulfing over 278,000 acres in flames and consuming 45 structures, including homes.
“This is a big problem that we’re having—these are not the normal fires anymore,” Cagle said. “It’s just intense fire behavior, and it’s not what we’re used to.” He also stressed the fact that people need to listen to evacuation orders.
The Dixie Fire is currently California’s biggest wildfire and the state’s eighth-largest wildfire ever. As of Wednesday night, it has been 35 percent contained.
Fires ripped through California last year, with 2020 seeing four of the five biggest wildfires in California history.
