Park staff prepared structures in the area over the past few days, but that may not be enough to save them.
“The fire is moving so fast and so hot, it’s an extremely dangerous situation,” park spokesman Kevin Sweeney said. It’s too early to tell how many acres have burned, he added.
On Wednesday, the fire made its way through Greenville, leaving a trail of destruction in a downtown area that features historic buildings built in the 1800s and throughout the 1949 gold rush. A gas station, hotel and bar were among many fixtures destroyed by flames.
Dan Kearns, a volunteer firefighter, said the winds came up strong Wednesday afternoon and blew the Dixie Fire into town under the type of deadly conditions that have in recent years caused widespread damage in California communities, including Paradise, Redding and Shasta County.
"I'm not going to say total (destruction) because not every structure is gone. But the town it's catastrophically destroyed," Kearns said.
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