A quick-moving wildfire has burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp.

It's one of nearly two dozen fires burning across Northern California Wednesday.

Firefighters and an airtanker were seen battling thick white smoke as they worked to contain the blaze.

The quick-moving fire near Chinese Camp is threatening the few remaining historic structures.

The roughly 100 residents in the Sierra Nevada foothills town had to evacuate.

The fire also has closed a main highway between San Francisco and Yosemite National Park.

It’s unclear whether any of the town’s Gold Rush era structures have been damaged in the fire that erupted Tuesday.

AP Video: Noah Berger