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Five Chinese Children Died as Yreka Chinatown Burned

Date:August 11, 1886
Location:Siskiyou, California
Event Type:Expulsion
Victim Names:Unnamed children
Victim Gender:Unknown
No. of Victims:5
Accusation:Anti-Chinese prejudice
Killing Method:Arson (burning)
Compiled By:Monroe Work Project

Narrative

In August 1886, in Yreka, California, a fire razed the town’s Chinatown and claimed the lives of five Chinese children. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that “five Chinese children perished in the fire” (Aug. 14, 1886). The blaze was believed to be deliberately set as part of an effort to drive out Yreka’s Chinese residents. Although the victims were not targeted for any specific wrongdoing, their deaths were a direct result of the arson fire that was intended to force the Chinese out of Yreka. No perpetrators were held accountable.

Related Newspaper Article(s)

The Truckee Fire

The Evening Mail (Stockton, California)

June 19, 1886 (Page 2)

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.

Fire at Truckee

Spokane Falls Review (Spokane, Washington)

June 19, 1886 (Page 3)

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.

Four Blocks and Five Children Burned

The Evening Mail (Stockton, California)

August 12, 1886 (Page 2)

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.

The Pacific Coast Swept by Flames

The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California)

August 12, 1886 (Page 1)

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.

Four Blocks and Five Children Burned

The Evening Mail (Stockton, California)

August 12, 1886 (Page 2)

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.

Five Chinese Children Perish in Yreka Blaze

Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California)

August 14, 1886 (Page 3)

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