Thousands return home from Mosquito Fire evacuations, as rain turns blaze to smolder
Rainy weather across Northern California has helped to dampen the Mosquito Fire, allowing more than 10,000 foothills residents to return home in recent days, though a risk of flash flooding was expected to persist through Tuesday.
Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service reported the blaze had charred 76,290 acres (119 square miles) in a Tuesday morning incident report, with containment holding at 39%. Acreage had not increased since Sunday evening, they said.
After the fire displaced more than 11,000 residents, most of them for more than a week, fire officials on Tuesday said just 244 residents remained under mandatory evacuation orders.
Evacuations were lifted or reduced to warnings Sunday and Monday for Foresthill and Todd Valley in Placer County, as well the El Dorado County towns of Georgetown, Volcanoville and Quintette.
Parts of sparsely populated Placer County communities east and northeast of Foresthill, including Michigan Bluff, Chicken Hawk and Westville, remained evacuated as of Tuesday morning, according to an online map from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Fire officials in Tuesday’s incident update said the ongoing storm, which arrived in Northern California over the weekend, has brought anywhere from three-quarters of an inch to 2 inches of rain to parts of the fire zone.
Fire and weather officials warn that rain and scattered thunderstorms in this week’s forecast could cause flash flooding and debris flows in the region. The National Weather Service has a flash flood watch in place for Mosquito Fire burn areas through the end of Tuesday.
Cal Fire and the Forest Service in Tuesday’s incident update said that even with significant amounts of rain, “lingering areas of heat remain in pockets of smoldering heavy fuels and places such as stump holes.”
Just over 3,000 personnel remain assigned to the fire, Cal Fire said Tuesday morning.
Tuesday evening will mark two weeks since the Mosquito Fire, California’s largest wildfire this year, ignited near the Oxbow Reservoir.
The blaze grew intensely at its outset Sept. 6. It calmed down the following weekend, then stirred back to life last week as wind led the blaze to jump the Middle Fork of the American River, sending an 1,100-acre spot fire toward Foresthill and Todd Valley.
Crews successfully defended the two towns, holding flames south of Foresthill Road.
The fire has destroyed at least 78 homes and damaged 13 others, with much of the destruction concentrated in Michigan Bluff and Volcanoville. Cal Fire says its damage assessments are complete.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 8:29 AM.
