HILT, Calif. — Years of memories now lie in a charred mess of metal and wood as residents past and present mourn the loss of the Hilt Community Center.

The center burned to the ground about 7 p.m. July 24 when it was struck by lightning in this small town about a mile from the Oregon border.

Flames quickly raced through the structure, which was fully engulfed by the time the Colestin Rural Fire Department and local residents armed with hoses arrived.

Christy Lehman lives about a mile away and saw smoke and fire in the distance.

"I saw the fire and yelled at my husband, ‘The center’s on fire!’ " she recalled. "When we got to the scene, there was like an 8-foot hole in the roof from the lightning strike, with flames and smoke coming out of it."

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The 8,700-square-foot building off Hilt Hungry Road was from 1947 to 1973 the town’s hub. It was the library, basketball court and local soda fountain, and hosted community events such as birthdays and weddings. The property was expanded in 1947 by Fruit Growers Supply Co., which owned the local mill from 1907 to 1973. Before that, it was the Diamond Saloon, which was built in the 1920s.

When the mill closed in 1973, many people left town, although the supply company still has about 25 workers who maintain private forests in the area, said FGS regional manager Terry Salvestro. After a population of about 500 when the mill closed, today only about 150 people live in the Hilt area, Lehman estimated.

After the community center closed in 1973, the space was used for storage, with many local children using the gym to play basketball or to skateboard.

The blaze left Tom Shorey, a forester with the supply company, homeless. He lived in the only occupied apartment in the complex.

Shorey was on the California coast with his two teenage sons, Andy and Russ Shorey of Ashland, when he heard the news and rushed back to find he had no home.

"When I heard what happened, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, are my dogs OK?’ " he said. "They’re like my family to me. I was overwhelmed with grief because I was sure everything would be gone when I got back."

Although his belongings were destroyed, including his boat, he was overjoyed to discover his five dogs weren’t injured. Quick-thinking neighbors got them out of the building. Two of his cats were found, but a third is missing.

This past week, Shorey was still going though the debris, hoping to find salvageable items. All he found were a few mangled pans and the charred remains of his trombone.

"I’m just still numb and grief-stricken," he said, standing in the debris. "There’s just so many good memories here for me and so many others, and now there’s just memories. There’s nothing left."

Shorey is living with his girlfriend in nearby Hornbook but hopes to find a place in the Hilt area.

Residents are raising money to help Shorey find a place and to replace his property. He did not have renter’s insurance. Lehman said she has started a fund for him at the Bank of America in Ashland.

"I think that if it was us, I would hope there would be someone to help us out," she said. "It’s the least all of us here can do."

Shorey is overwhelmed that his neighbors saved his dogs and are trying to help in other ways.

"I’m just really grateful," he said. "You don’t really know who your friends are until something like this happens."

Salvestro said the company did not have an exact cost estimate for the building and its contents, but called it "substantial." There are no plans to rebuild.

Seeing the charred remains was painful for Marcino "Schienier" Marin, 72, who was born and raised in Hilt and now lives in Phoenix. His son is a firefighter with Jackson County Fire District No. 5 and still lives there. Marin worked at the mill until it closed.

"It was the heart, spirit and essence of Hilt," he said about the center. "It just makes me sick to see that the building I grew up with is gone."

Marin reminisced about meeting friends there after school, playing in nearby meadows, having a soda at the fountain and eating nickel ice creams.

"I’ve seen many of these lightning strikes hit trees before over the years," Marin said. "But why in the hell did it have to hit that building?"

Bill Choy is a reporter for the Mail Tribune and the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 482-3456.