CHINESE CAMP, Calif. (KFSN/KMJ) — A wave of lightning strikes ignited dozens of wildfires across Tuolumne and Calaveras counties this week, leaving behind a trail of destruction in the historic town of Chinese Camp.
Once a bustling Gold Rush settlement founded in the 1850s by Chinese miners, Chinese Camp now lies in ruins-its centuries-old structures reduced to smoldering rubble, charred vehicles, and scorched earth.
A thick cloud of smoke continues to hang over the area, a haunting reminder of the town’s sudden devastation.
“This is a lot of history that was lost,” a CAL FIRE firefighter said. “It never gets easy coming up and seeing someone lose their home.”
Randall Hoffman, a homeowner in the area, narrowly escaped the flames.
“I ended up coming home just in time to soak down in front of my property,” he said. “The fire had traveled all the way down from the mountain, about three miles in ten minutes, and blew across the road at about 40 miles an hour.”
Hoffman was one of the lucky few.
“Armageddon. It’s not very good,” he added. “Devastation, utter. I think we lost 95% of the town.”
The fires were sparked on Tuesday during a rare lightning event that saw an estimated 16,000 strikes in just a few hours. CAL FIRE officials say at least 22 fires were ignited across the region.
David Acuna with CAL FIRE described the unusual nature of the storm.
“I was actually driving through that lightning storm around 3 am. It was hitting both the western and eastern mountains, which is why we have fires from Coalinga, all the way up here in Tuolumne and Calaveras.”
Fire crews are battling the blazes both on the ground and from the air. Water tankers have been making repeated trips to Don Pedro Lake to refill for aerial drops.
Hundreds of residents have been forced to evacuate. The Red Cross has opened shelters in Sonora and Angels Camp to accommodate the displaced.
