Mosquito Fire updates: Rain departs after boosting containment; assistance for victims
Firefighters have made substantial progress this week in containing the Mosquito Fire, as a storm system brought several inches of rain to the Northern California foothills and allowed the last remaining mandatory evacuation orders in Placer and El Dorado counties to be lifted.
The wildfire grew slightly Wednesday, reaching 76,539 acres (120 square miles), a 249-acre increase after no growth had been reported Monday or Tuesday, according to a Thursday morning incident report from Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service.
But containment also jumped to 60%, up from 49% Wednesday morning.
More than 2,000 personnel remain assigned to the dampened blaze, with the main priority of completing containment lines on the fire’s eastern flank, according to Thursday’s update.
Firefighters are also patrolling the southern and western flanks, including the Foresthill area, for potential smolders and hot spots to ensure that established lines hold up.
As the storm clears out, warmer and drier weather will create the potential for increased fire behavior, officials wrote in Thursday’s update.
However, it will also grant access for additional resources, “allowing firefighters to access portions of the fireline with the equipment they previously could not reach due to the wet and muddy road conditions.”
The National Weather Service earlier this week, on Monday and Tuesday, issued a flash flood watch for the Mosquito Fire zone, advising that thunderstorms could cause dangerous debris flows. Fortunately, the advisory expired with no significant flooding reported.
The Mosquito Fire, California’s largest wildfire of 2022, destroyed 78 structures and damaged 13 others, mostly homes in the Michigan Bluff and Volcanoville communities. Cal Fire says its damage assessment is complete.
The blaze started Sept. 6 near Oxbow Reservoir in Placer County, grew intensely in its early days and flared up again last week, when an 1,100-acre spot fire jumped the Middle Fork of the American River from El Dorado County back up into Placer County.
Mandatory evacuation orders that had been in place for communities including Foresthill, Georgetown and Todd Valley have been lifted in stages since the weekend. The final few dozen residents under evacuation orders saw those lifted Wednesday afternoon.
Post-fire assistance centers will be available this week in each county, offering resources for those whose homes were destroyed or damaged, or who otherwise require assistance in the recovery process:
▪ Placer County’s center is at 24750 Main St. in Foresthill, the former site of Foresthill Elementary School. It is open noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
▪ El Dorado County’s center is at 330 Fair Lane in Placerville. It is open from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 8:21 AM.
