Fire engulfs Northern California town, leveling businesses

GREENVILLE, Calif.:A wind-driven wildfire tore through a Northern California mountain town, leaving much of the downtown in ashes and crews braced for another explosive run of flames in the midst of dangerous weather.

The Dixie Fire, swollen by bone-dry vegetation and 40-mph gusts, raged through the northern Sierra Nevada town of Greenville Wednesday evening. Fire officials confirmed that some buildings were destroyed but had no details. However, a photographer on assignment for The Associated Press described seeing a gas station, and hotel burned to the ground.