Mosquito Fire update: Rain helps containment and several evacuation orders are lifted
Containment of the Mosquito Fire in Placer and El Dorado counties jumped this weekend as rain showers fell on the region.
The fire is 34% contained, Cal Fire said in a Sunday morning update, up from 21% the day before. The fire grew slightly from Saturday and has now burned 74,748 acres.
“As rain showers are forecasted to continue through the day and become heavier overnight, crews will look for opportunities to make containment progress as it is safe to do so,” Cal Fire officials wrote in their update.
The area of the fire could receive up to 2 inches of rain over the next few days, the National Weather Service said.
The fire has destroyed 78 structures and damaged another 13, according to Cal Fire. More than 11,000 people are evacuated from what is the state’s largest fire of 2022.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office wrote on social media that several evacuation orders were lifted, allowing about 3,7000 residents to return home. Zones eight, nine, 10 and 11A are now in evacuation warnings, and warnings were lifted in zones 15, 12 and 26. Those zones are on the fire’s western side.
In El Dorado County, evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings in Cannon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle and the warnings were lifted in Cool, Garden Valley, Georgetown proper and Swansboro.
Evacuation orders in parts of Georgetown have been lifted, and firefighters and law-enforcement personnel “continue reevaluating the evacuation status of communities as they work towards safely repopulating these areas,” Cal Fire said.
The Mosquito Fire started Sept. 6 and the cause is still under investigation.
Other wildfire updates
▪ The Garden Fire, 10 miles northwest of Auburn near Garden Bar Road and Big Hill Road, is 75% contained.
The fire has burned 29 acres and “resources continue with mop-up operations to establish full containment,” Cal Fire officials wrote in a Sunday morning Tweet.
▪ The Dutch Fire, which started Tuesday afternoon and had closed Interstate 80 near Dutch Flat in Placer County, is 85% contained, up from 75% on Saturday. It remains at 48 acres.
This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 10:21 AM.