10 things you need to know today: August 6, 2021

Wildfire destroys historic California gold rush town, Biden signs bill awarding medal to police who defended Capitol, and more

A California fire
(Image credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Dixie Fire destroys historic California gold rush town

California's massive Dixie Fire destroyed the historic gold rush town of Greenville late Wednesday, with authorities estimating Thursday that 75 percent of the town's structures had been reduced to ashes. The areas that were burned included Main Street, with its 1880s buildings. "We lost Greenville tonight," Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) said in a Facebook video. "It's just completely devastating. We've lost our home, my business, our whole downtown area is gone," said Eva Gorman, one of the town's 1,000 residents. The overwhelmed fire crew "did everything we could," fire spokesman Mitch Matlow said. "Sometimes it's just not enough." The Dixie Fire as of Thursday had burned 361,812 acres, making it the sixth largest wildfire in California state history.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.