A California Gold Rush town was like ‘going back in time’. Then came a wildfire

A 19th-century settlement founded by Chinese miners and said to have hosted outlaw Black Bart was devastated by fire

Shortly after lightning sparked dozens of wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada foothills this week, author Stephen Provost received news that devastated him.

Fire was sweeping through Chinese Camp, a Gold Rush-era town that a group of Chinese miners founded in the 19th century after they were driven out of a nearby settlement. The town's almost 100 residents were forced to evacuate and news reports showed flames consuming historic buildings.