Wildfire decimates California town

A tiny Northern California mountain town was burned down as the raging wildfires engulfed more areas in the US. Hundreds of firefighters couldn't save homes from reducing into aches. The Dixie Fire, swollen by bone-dry vegetation and 40 mph (64 kph) gusts, raged through the northern Sierra Nevada community of Greenville on Wednesday. A gas station, church, hotel, museum and bar were among the fixtures gutted in the town dating back to California's gold rush era where some wooden buildings were more than 100 years old. The fire “burnt down our entire downtown. Our historical buildings, families homes, small businesses, and our children's schools are completely lost," Plumas County Supervisor Kevin Goss wrote on Facebook. Plumas County Sheriff Tom Johns, a lifelong resident of Greenville, said that “well over" 100 homes were destroyed, as well as businesses. “My heart is crushed by what has occurred there," he said. More than 20,000 firefighters and support personnel were battling 97 wildfires covering 2,919 square miles (7,560 square kilometers) in 13 U.S. states, the National Interagency Fire Center said. (AP)