Chinese Camp — the aftermath

I am no stranger to fire in the Sierra foothills. I grew up in them and for the past 45 years have lived in them.

Several times wildfire prompted evacuations and scared the bejeebers out of me. Thoughts of losing my beautiful home and property and massive destruction of habitat and all the critters who also call it home produced nightmares and great anxiety.

The Chinese Camp fire on Sept. 2 is a powerful reminder of the fragility of life. Besides the tragic loss of 90 percent of homes and property, displacement of residents who, for the most part, had no insurance due to out of reach rates.

Let us not forget yet another Gold Rush era town is gone. How or if the tiny community will rise from the ashes is unknown. Thankfully, there was no loss of human life.

Chinese Camp was born in 1849 at the very beginning of the Gold Rush. It has a connection to an ethnic group who populated the area and mined the gravels very successfully. In fact it is one of the only survivors that has such a relationship.

I have a special spot in my heart for this place which goes back to my earliest days of exploring the Sierra. A friend and I were in search of trails and wildflowers along Red Hills Road. At the turnoff from Highway 49, a large stone monument proclaimed Chinese Camp as a California Historical Site.

Intrigued, I put it on the list for future investigation. To this day I can’t explain why these hot rolling Sierra foothills appealed to me. And they still do.

I went back a few years later to wander the streets of the old town, population hovering around 100. Not surprisingly, I found many unoccupied ancient wood buildings, out of control vegetation and no commercialism.

I was surprised that there were no fire hydrants. Old age and time made them intriguing and photogenic. There was a functioning post office and a few stone and brick structures with descriptive plaques.

Besides houses some folks occupied tents and trailers. I didn’t notice any children. I was mindful not to take photos of occupied buildings or people.

Between visits I read everything I could find about it. Five thousand lived here in the region that yielded more than $2 million in gold. The large Chinese population was forced to quit their claims and businesses and leave the town, as they were everywhere else in gold country.

Eventually, when the gold petered out, the population also disappeared. I wondered how the little town managed to survive. But on this day it still had a pulse.

I was sick at heart when I visited the site shortly after the fire when it was deemed safe to enter. There were no fatalities, but some pets were lost. The fire spread rapidly. People had to leave with just what they were wearing. It looked like a war zone.

Chinese Camp was destroyed, reduced to rubble. Piles of blackened metal and wood and cars and bikes and concrete foundations and charred bricks and household debris everywhere.

I was cheered a bit to discover the iconic school building and its pagoda style roof was unharmed. The little 1854 Catholic Church and graveyard had been saved by the heroic effort of firefighters.

What will happen now? This is a close-knit community, and somehow they will find a way back. I’m definitely rooting for them.

Bottom line, history matters.

Taking care of historical sites is more than just saving old buildings and artifacts. History doesn’t just live in books. It shapes our individual and collective identity.

It’s about our collective memories and heritage and who we are as a culture. We can learn from the past to guide our future. History interprets the past to understand the present and confront the future.

Words of wisdom from Abe Lincoln: “A land without ruins is a land without a memory. A land without a memory is a land without a history.”

If you would like to help the residents of Chinese Camp who lost everything, you may make a tax deductible donation to the Sonora Area Foundation. Go to the Foundation website and click on donors, then click on donate now. Scroll down to: Chinese Camp Fire Recovery Fund.

You can click on donate and complete the form or make a check payable to: Sonora Area Foundation. Write in the memo line, Chinese Camp Recovery.

Mail to: Sonora Area Foundation, 362 S. Stewart St., Sonora, CA 95370. You may call the Foundation at (209) 533-2596 with any questions.

Sierra native Sharon Giacomazzi is the author of Sierra historical hiking guidebooks and articles for outdoors publications. She can be reached at sharong@sti.net. “Feet are like dogs, they are happiest when going somewhere.”