CHINESE CAMP, Calif. —

Residents of Chinese Camp are facing immense loss after fires destroyed their homes and belongings .

Polina Ken, a Cambodian refugee who has lived in Chinese Camp for 10 years , described the moment she first saw the destruction.

"The first time I see this my knee was shaking almost like I don’t know how to stand," she said.

Ken, who raised two sons on her own and now lives alone, finds losing her home unbearable.

"The thunder came so loud," she recalled.

Her once-blooming garden is now covered in ash

"My plants all burn out," she said. "Everything burned."

Ken chose to live in Chinese Camp because of its history, which she says remains despite the destruction.

"All of them burned down. Nothing left. Anybody that comes to take a picture, they call it ghos

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