In 1908, a new vein of gold was discovered at Hayden Hill and another resurgence was on its way. The Golden Eagle, the Hill’s largest mine, hired 100 men for the initial operation and more were added to the payroll. In addition, the Lassen Mining Company’s Juniper Mine enjoyed good fortune and they had over 100 men on the payroll.
It was one of the brightest moments in the town’s history, followed by one of its worst disasters. On September 11, 1910, a fire originated at the Lassen Mining Company’s boarding house, which erupted into an inferno. The town had always had an inadequate water supply and there was not much anyone could to do fight the fire, and just watched the majority of the businesses and residential sections on the west side of the Hill go up in flames. The fire resulted in layoffs and over 150 miners left since there was no housing. The town would never fully recover.
On a rather peculiar note, the fire devastated the town’s cemetery. All the markers in the cemetery, including Joseph Hayden’s the town’s namesake, were all made of wood and the fire wiped those out.