A quick-moving wildfire in Chinese Camp, Tuolumne County, expanded rapidly to about 10 square miles and forced evacuations of the town and surrounding highways. The town was originally settled around 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp. The fire is part of the larger TCU September Lightning Complex, which has burned more than 19 square miles across Calaveras and Tuolumne counties with no containment. At least five homes were burning in a mix of freestanding and mobile residences. Neighbors attempted to protect houses by moving branches and shoveling sand until firefighters arrived. An RV on a property was damaged; no injuries were reported.
TUOLUMNE COUNTY A quick-moving wildfire burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp and the blaze grew without containment on Wednesday. The fire rapidly expanded to 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) in size, forcing the evacuation Tuesday of the Chinese Camp Town and surrounding highways, according to CalFire, the state's chief fire agency. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
Outside one house on Tuesday evening, seven people quickly moved large tree branches away from the structure and shoveled sand onto the fire in a desperate attempt to keep the blaze from spreading from the house next door. They worked for about 30 minutes until firefighters arrived. An RV on the property was damaged by the fire. A firefighter battles the 6-5 Fire burning through the Chinese Camp community of Tuolumne County, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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