June 2, 1886 – Yreka, California: "Collateral" Deaths of Five Chinese Children in a Fire Set by a White Mob of Rioters

A coroner’s jury in Truckee rules two Chinese men suffocated in a Chinatown cellar during a devastating fire. Witnesses agree a red-hot stovepipe sparked the blaze, though some suspect the victims were locked in by fellow Chinese. With Chinatown in ashes, remaining residents prepare to leave town.

A separate Truckee dispatch notes forty Chinatown buildings destroyed (loss $15,000) and two highbinders suffocated. Locals claim Chinese set the blaze rather than let whites inherit property, though officials blame a defective pipe.

Stockton paper details the same Yreka inferno: four city blocks destroyed, $50,000 loss, five Chinese children dead; hidden Chinese are clubbed into firefighting, wind change saves business district.

Examiner’s statewide roundup echoes Yreka disaster, stressing rapid spread through Chinese rookeries, major property loss, and children’s deaths while pressed Chinese labor helped contain flames.

A nighttime blaze races through Yreka’s Chinatown, consuming four city blocks of Chinese stores, workshops, and nearby businesses. Property damage tops $50,000 and five Chinese children perish. Miners drag hiding Chinese from shelters, forcing them to man fire engines; only a wind shift saves the commercial district.

Fire razes Yreka’s Chinatown; five Chinese children perish in the blaze, underscoring vulnerability of segregated quarters to arson or accident.