Heartbreaking reason quaint beauty spot named 'friendliest town' in US is being shunned by hikers this year

A quaint Northern California town that had become a must see for thousands of hikers traveling through the scenic Pacific Crest Trail, has suddenly been shunned. 

Etna in Siskiyou County appears to be off the list for California's intrepid trekkers this season. 

The reason: nearby forest fires which are forcing hikers to reconsider and reroute their journeys altogether. 

Backpackers would often stop in Etna which had earned the reputation of 'the friendliest town on the trail.' 

The town was the perfect place to pitch up for a night in the middle of a tour through the Klamath National Forest. 

Up to 6,000 hikers a year would pass through the tiny town, which has a population of just over 1,000 people. 

But the Shelly Fire, which began at the start of July, and has so far burned more than 15,460 acres, has thrown the tiny community into turmoil for the third year in a row. As of Friday, it is 18 percent contained

For those hardened hikers who are walking the entire length of the 2,650 mile journey from Mexico to California, Etna was the perfect place to recharge and relax before rejoining the massive trail. 

Nestled beneath conifer forest in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, it was once ranked as one of the best towns in the in the country and described as a 'time warp ranch town' that's Yellowstone 'minus the gridlock'. 

While those who live in Etna are more than happy with their bucolic isolation, the community had begun to rely on seasonal visitors over the years. 

Etna has a couple of shops together with a few places to stay for the night, with several guest houses for weary travelers. 

Last week, however, Etna received orders for people to either evacuate or to prepare to leave as a forest fire drew closer.

It means anyone thinking about hiking the PCT is now looking at taking a different route and missing Etna entirely. 

Some have decided to divert to Mount Shasta City, about 70 miles away, where there are more resources, while others are simply bypassing the area altogether and heading to the neighboring state of Oregon.

Despite few hikers visiting Etna this year, the town has received an unexpected uptick from a different set of clientele – firefighters. 

There are almost 4,000 working to contain the Shelly Fire with first responders coming from as far away as Maine, with many ending up in downtown Etna.

'We're seeing a little uptick in business from all these firefighters working so hard to save our little town,' Brandy Hudson, co-owner of the burger and fries joint Dotty's said to SFGate.

'They set up a fire incident camp two miles up the road, and while they have a mobile kitchen and caterers, they get tired of the food sometimes,' Hudson explained. 'And everybody knows that Dotty's has the best ice cream in the valley.' 

Despite the presence of heroic visitors, the absence of hikers has changed the overall feel of the town that had become a staple for those tracking along the Pacific Crest Trail. 

'There's no silver lining to this', said Meg Pick, owner of Etna Creek Outfitters.

'Hikers have told us that Etna is the friendliest town on the trail. We're missing the hikers and the infusion of culture that comes into Etna,' said Craig Thompson, owner of the Bluebird Inn. 

'They support the economy but there's that human element. We're missing the friends we haven't met yet.' 

The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) had suggested that a smarter system needs to be set up that would communicate directly with hikers about possible closures along the route, and now an app have finally been developed. 

That way, hikers would not simply avoid the area when it is in fact still open to the world. 

'On June 25, we built this app in house and launched it to the world,' PCTA's trail information manager Jack Haskel said. 'The next day, I had to update it with fire news after fire news.' 

Nevertheless, the California wildfire season appears to be an active one with a number of large incidents already burning across the Golden State. 

A blitz of lightning ignited some of the fires in early June, following back-to-back wet winters that pulled the state out of drought, but spawned abundant grasses that have since dried out. 

The Vista Fire in San Bernardino National Forest and the White Fire in the Tehachapi Mountains have also closed off a number of trail sections in Southern California.

In Northern California it is the Shelly Fire that is the biggest threat in the area. Two weeks after it ignited it is still less than 20 percent contained. 

Etna has been on a state of alert for most of July despite becoming 'accustomed to these big fires'. 

Fire fighters are working hard to keep the flames from spreading eastwards towards the downtown area, but there is always an element of suspense, with much dependent on weather conditions, particularly the wind and rain. 

'That's the strange thing about a wildfire. There's a lot of waiting,' Thompson added. 

'There are certain catastrophic fires that move fast, but the fire we're experiencing now is slowly growing. There's just an eeriness of waiting.'