Gas Point: Ghost town burned to the ground

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Gas Point: Ghost town burned to the ground

Initial Call: Just before midnight Monday 4-7
Contained: By 1 a.m. Tuesday
Location: The ghost town was about 10 miles west of Interstate 5 down Gas Point Road. Visitors crossed Cottonwood Creek over an old steel trestle bridge just before arriving at the town.
Notes: Cause unknown, No Injuries

The town was built near the turn of the 19th century. Henrietta Leschinsky and her husband, Henry Hiens, operated the saloon, post office, feed store, hotel and general store.

The surrounding area was settled in the 1850s and for a short time was called Janesville.

Gas Point ghost town destroyed

"It was one of our last historic gems," Shasta County historian Dottie Smith said. "When you drove up, you felt like you were in the Old West."

Photo by Nathan Morgan / Record Searchlight

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Paul Telles, center, and inmates from Sugar Pine Conservation Camp mop up Tuesday in the aftermath of an overnight fire that destroyed the Gas Point ghost town.

The town's five remaining dilapidated buildings were fully engulfed in flames by the time California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Shasta County firefighters arrived just before midnight. The fire was contained by 1 a.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire Capt. Mark Mack said.

Full story at» Redding.com

Northern California ghost town destroyed by fire

REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The last five buildings in a California ghost town have burned to the ground.

The buildings in Gas Point, in southwestern Shasta County, were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived early Tuesday. Investigators don't know what caused the fire.

The area was settled in the 1850s and for a short time was called Janesville. The town of Gas Point, long since abandoned, included a saloon, post office, feed store, hotel and general store.

It was reached by an old steel trestle bridge about 10 miles east of Interstate 5

Source: KTVN

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Wednesday, April 9, 2008