Disturbing before and after photos show how Dixie fire - the second largest ever recorded in California - has destroyed homes, businesses and an entire historic town as four remain missing
Disturbing before and after photos released Sunday reveal how California's second largest ever recorded blaze has destroyed homes, businesses and an entire historic town.
The Dixie Fire is now 463,477 acres and, as of Sunday morning, only 21 percent contained. It has burned for 23 days straight spreading across Plumas, Butte, Tehama and Lassen counties.
Officials say four people remain missing.
A before and after photo series shows how the monstrous Dixie Fire in northern California has grown to become the second-largest wildfire in state history, destroying a home and car that stood in its path
The historic town of Greenville is pictured shortly before the Dixie Fire swept through it on August 4, obliterating its main street
The Dixie Fire's path has obliterated Greenville, a small mountain town about 125 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada, that is home to just 1,000 people.
Authorities in Plumas County, where Greenville is located, issued three more mandatory evacuation orders on Sunday, CBS 13 reported.
Thousands of residents have fled the area, many finding temporary housing — even living in tents — in the area, often unsure whether their homes have survived.
Four Greenville residents remain unaccounted for. The Plumas County Sheriff's Office has identified them as Lillian Basham, Joseph Basham, Blanca Auban and Michael Auban.
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is asked to contact authorities.
No fatalities have been reported at this time.
The Dixie blaze is the largest active wildfire in the United States, but one of only 11 major wildfires in California. Over the weekend it surpassed the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire to make it the second-worst fire in state history, the authorities said.
Crews estimate the fire, which began July 13, will not finally be extinguished before August 20.
Weak winds and higher humidity were providing some succor to firefighters, but they are bracing for higher temperatures expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit by midweek.
'We're seeing fire activity that even veteran firefighters haven't seen in their career,' Cal Fire spokesman Edwin Zuniga told The Washington Post. 'So we're just in really uncharted territory.'
A color infrared satellite image shows Lake Almanor during Dixie Fire in California on August 8
A barn in Greenville and white Jaguar sedan are pictured as flames begin to take hold on August 6, and after they'd been consumed by the Dixie Fire's flames
A home in Indian Falls is already alight in the first photo, and has since been reduced to a small pile of rubble
A real estate agency in historic Greenville, California is pictured on July 23, and after its destruction on August 7
The sky behind this quaint gas station in Greenville glowed red on July 23 - with the building eventually destroyed by the Dixie Fire on August 7
The last time Greenville saw this level of destruction was 140 years ago, according to the SF Gate.
On Monday, April 25, 1881, the Greenville Bulletin printed a headline reading: 'The most destructive fire which ever visited the town of Greenville broke out about fifteen minutes before 4 o'clock on last Saturday morning.'
The city's entire commercial district had been destroyed in the blaze and only four structures remained.
However, unlike in 1881, Greenville will be forced to completely rebuild its downtown area in wake of the Dixie Fire.
Crews were able to save many homes in the town but not the commercial district.
'We lost Greenville tonight,' U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents the area, told the newspaper. 'There's just no words.'
Locals in Greenville listen to country music outside their home on July 23. It was one of many structures burned to the ground after Dixie swept through on August 4
The Way Station cocktail bar is pictured top, on July 23, and again on August 7 after being destroyed by the Dixie fire
A before and after series shows homeowner Jerry Whipple (R) speaking to a neighbor about ignoring a mandatory evacuation order in front of his home on July 23, 2021, and after it burned on August 7, 2021 during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California
The area destroyed is now larger than Los Angeles and bigger than the land ruined by the vast Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon.
Smoke has helped 'shade and moderate' the blaze but also hindered firefighters' ability to work from the air.
Crews on the ground were left to spray retardant on mountain ridges and around threatened communities.
Authorities say the Dixie Fire has destroyed several hundred buildings.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Pacific Gas & Electric has said it may have started when a tree fell on one of the utility's power lines.
On Friday U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the utility company to provide information about the tree falling incident.
'PG&E's responses will not be deemed as an admission by PG&E that it caused any fire, but they will serve as a starting point for discussion,' Alsup wrote in a statement.
The company told the Washington Post on Saturday that they were aware of the court's orders and would respond by the judge's August 16 deadline.
A home is seen burning (above) on July 24, 2021 and the remains are seen two days later on July 26, 2021 during the Dixie fire in the Indian Falls neighborhood of unincorporated Plumas County, California
A before and after series shows a truck burning on August 5, 2021 (above) and after it burned (below) on August 6, 2021 during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California
A before and after series shows a community center in flames on August 4, 2021 and after it burned on August 5, 2021 during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California
Meanwhile, in the state capital of Sacramento, the plumes of smoke have led officials to warn of an 'unhealthy' air quality.
The fire has also burned through the small town of Canyondam but authorities were faced with some resistance from residents told to evacuate.
As thousands were told to leave their homes, authorities were met at times by armed residents refusing to budge, the Los Angeles Times reported.
When that happens, cops are asking the residents for the names of next-of-kin - to be notified if the fire claims their lives.
A before and after series shows downtown Greenville, California before it burned on July 23, 2021 (above) and the day it burned (below) on August 4, 2021 during the Dixie fire
A before and after series shows a vehicle exploding into flames (above) on July 24, 2021 and after it burned on August 7, 2021 during the Dixie fire in the Indian Falls neighborhood of unincorporated Plumas County
A before and after series shows downtown Greenville, California before it burned on July 23, 2021 (above) and the day it burned (below) on August 4, 2021, during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California
This satellite image taken on August 8 shows the extent of the damage the Dixie Fire inflicted on another small town, Canyondam
More than 5,000 fire and rescue crews are now battling the Dixie blaze, which is sending enormous clouds of smoke into the air that are easily visible from space.
While the fire continued to swell overnight Friday, officials said Saturday that cooler, calmer weather was giving firefighters a much-needed break.
Cooler temperatures and calmer winds moved into the area overnight in a boon to weary firefighters, the state agency Calfire said.
The Dixie Fire's movement northeastward has been slowed in part because it has reached what the CalFire website calls the 'scar' of an earlier blaze, the 2007 Moonlight Fire, reducing available fuel.
By late July, the number of acres burned in California was up more than 250 percent from 2020 - already the worst year of wildfires in the state's modern history.
The wildfires have been blamed on a long-term drought that has left the area vulnerable to explosive and highly destructive fires and which scientists say is driven by climate change.
Greenville has been largely destroyed by the ferocious Dixie Fire which has burned for 23 days
