Updated 9:15 p.m. Wednesday
California’s largest wildfire has leveled much of the downtown and some surrounding homes in a small Northern California mountain community.
The Dixie Fire tore through Greenville on Wednesday evening, destroying businesses and homes as the sky was cast in an orange glow. A photographer on assignment for The Associated Press described seeing a gas station, hotel and bar burned to the ground.
“If you are still in the Greenville area, you are in imminent danger and you MUST leave now!!” the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook earlier Wednesday.
The 3-week-old blaze grew to over 278,000 acres across Plumas and Butte counties as thousands of firefighters prepared for a tough fight ahead with the anticipated return of dangerous weather.
A red flag warning was issued through Thursday across much of the northeastern part of the state (and throughout a large swath of the West) because of hot, bone-dry conditions with winds up to 40 mph. That could drive flames through timber, brush and grass, especially along the northern and northeastern sides of the vast fire.