Photos show McKinney Fire’s destruction of Klamath River, a California town turned to ash

"It's very sad. It's very disheartening," 80-year-old Roger Derry told the Associated Press , "Some of our oldest homes, 100-year-old homes, are gone. It's a small community. Good people, good folks, for the most part, live here and in time will rebuild. But it's going to take some time now."

The unincorporated community stretches for 11 miles along Highway 96 on the banks of the Klamath River — the second-largest river in California, that runs from Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon some 257 miles to the Pacific coast.

Few corners of America can boast the array of wildlife found along the shores of the Klamath. The basin is home to the largest herd of deer in California, alongside black bear, elk, mountain lions and one of the largest concentrations of ducks on the continent . Photojournalists on the scene captured deer among the ruins this week.

Once home to several Native American tribes who lived off the bountiful salmon and trout there, during the California Gold Rush white settlers moved in, mined the earth and dammed the river. Several of the structures that date back over a century along Highway 96 were lost in the fire.

The fire has taken four lives, two of which were reportedly found in a burned-out car in the driveway of a home in the Klamath River community.

As of Wednesday morning, what’s left of the town of Klamath River is still under an “immediate threat to life” evacuation order. (Find evacuation updates for specific addresses here. ) On their return, evacuees will find few structures remaining. The Klamath River Community Hall is gone, as are many of the homes and stores. The post office on Highway 96 is reportedly still standing.

The obliteration of small California towns is a now a routine reality, as wildfires exacerbated by climate change frequently sweep through the American West. Last year’s Dixie Fire leveled Greenville , the historic Plumas County town. That fire, the largest single wildfire in the state’s history, also wiped out the Gold Rush-era settlement of Rich Bar . The Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise in Butte County, killing 85 residents and reducing its population by 90%, in 2018.

The McKinney Fire, one of several in the region, is still raging in Siskiyou County just south of the Oregon border. As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire is reporting 57,000 acres have burned; crews still have no containment. Adding to the devastation, Wednesday morning saw torrential downpours and thunderstorms in the region, slowing the growth of the fire but triggering flooding and mudslides .