California wildfire leaves historic town in ashes

The main thoroughfare in a historic California gold-rush town was in smoldering ruins on Thursday, hours after the state's largest wildfire engulfed the hamlet of Greenville in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Eve Johnson reports.

Burned out cars, a sky thick with smoke, charred buildings.

An apocalyptic scene is all that is left of the historic main street in Greenville, California.

On Wednesday night the Dixie fire ripped through this former gold-rush town tucked away in the Sierra Nevada mountains, forcing residents to flee.

So far, no deaths or injuries reported: although one man is missing.

The Dixie fire is California's largest this year.

It has already torn through more than 360,000 acres.

In the town of Chester, residents had to leave after gathering what belongings they could “Just the last few things last minute.

I don’t know.

I just hate to leave it all....We’ll be ok.

They’ll get new toys but it’s just the memories.” With fire fighters still battling the blaze - it's about 35% contained.

There are more than a dozen others burning around the state.

Less than a hundred miles from the Dixie Fire, thousands evacuated ahead of the fast-moving River Fire.

The blaze has burned though 2400 acres since Wednesday, with 80 homes damaged or destroyed Officials say that, so far, it is zero percent contained.

Fire season came early to California this year.

The state is on pace to suffer even more burnt acreage than last year, which itself was the worst fire season on record.