The Mosquito Fire jumped back over the Middle Fork of the American River on Tuesday, sprinting north toward the Placer County towns of Todd Valley and Foresthill after gusty winds led spot fires to jump containment lines.
Close to 3,000 firefighters are bracing for similar conditions Wednesday as they continue their campaign to protect the two towns from the blaze.
Mapping from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services reported reported the wildfire at 61,012 acres (95.3 square miles) with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service reporting 20% containment. The fire grew by more than 10,000 acres from the Tuesday evening update, and containment fell from 25%.
At least 64 structures have been destroyed by the blaze, Cal Fire said, up from 46 reported Tuesday. Ten others have been damaged. Roughly two dozen homes were destroyed or damaged last week in the El Dorado County town Volcanoville, when the Mosquito Fire jumped north-to-south across the river.
The fire grew substantially Tuesday on its western edge with an “aggressive upslope run” toward Foresthill Road, as well as on its northeastern flank in a more sparsely populated stretch of Placer County, authorities said.
Two new evacuation orders were issued Tuesday afternoon: in Placer County, for areas north of Yankee Jims Road; and in El Dorado County, for the Stumpy Meadows campground area.
“The mission-critical priority for the firefighters Wednesday is the west side of the fire; they will focus on protecting structures in the Foresthill and Todd Valley areas and increasing containment of the fire line to prevent further westward and northward spread,” Cal Fire and Forest Service officials wrote in a 7:30 a.m. incident report.
Landon Haack, a Cal Fire operations chief, said during a 7 p.m. community update that flames from the fire burning in El Dorado County moved back north into Placer County, just south of Foresthill and Todd Valley.
Haack said firefighters had kept the flare-up contained south of Foresthill Road and east of a ridge just below Todd Valley. The flare-up had charred about 1,100 acres at that point, or about 1.7 square miles.
Firefighters were continuing to hold the line at Foresthill Road as of Wednesday morning. Crews established a fire line directly across the street from Foresthill High School.
Tuesday’s major flare-up began shortly after 2 p.m. and rapidly consumed hundreds of acres just north of the river. A huge column of pyrocumulus smoke developed within about 15 minutes, wildfire cameras in the region showed.
Foresthill and Todd Valley have been under mandatory evacuation orders since the middle of last week, during the fire’s initial furious run. South of the Middle Fork of the American River, the El Dorado County towns of Georgetown, Volcanoville and Quintette also remain evacuated.
In total, authorities say more than 11,000 residents are displaced by the Mosquito Fire, as it threatens some 5,800 structures, mostly homes. No injuries or fatalities had been reported as of Wednesday morning.
More than 3,000 fire personnel are now assigned to the Mosquito Fire.
Dozens refuse to evacuate Mosquito Fire zone
Scott McLean, a Cal Fire spokesman, said the spot fire was “bumping against” Foresthill, and that firefighters were concerned that some residents ignored the orders to leave.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office in a social media post Wednesday morning said it has recorded 90 “refusals” to evacuate the fire zone.
“I got too much to save,” Foresthill resident David Tachera said Tuesday evening, in front of his home and RV, when asked why he didn’t evacuate, though he did send his 76-year-old mother to safer ground.
“Besides, this house is pretty safe. Metal roofs. Asbestos siding.”
More windy weather expected Wednesday
Southwest winds on Tuesday cleared out a smoke inversion that had been parked over the Mosquito Fire since the weekend, fueling the fire with more oxygen and allowing the flare-up, fire officials said in incident reports Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Activity moderated overnight on the western edge of the fire, near Foresthill.
Crews were bracing for similar weather conditions most of Wednesday, with a “weak, cold dry front” expected to arrive early in the day.
Fire behavior may calm later Wednesday and early Thursday morning after the front passes and winds decrease, according to incident reports from Cal Fire and the Forest Service.
Smoke, air quality concerns cancel school in California, Nevada
Very poor air quality from Mosquito Fire smoke spewed east toward western Nevada with Tuesday’s flare-up. A federal air quality monitoring map showed pockets of “hazardous” and “very unhealthy” pollution centered near the Reno area as of Wednesday morning. The air was also “unhealthy” near Grass Valley, Truckee and the north side of Lake Tahoe.
The Washoe County School District on Wednesday morning canceled class at all of its schools due to the air quality.
All Lake Tahoe Unified School District campuses were closed Monday, also due to deteriorated air quality from the Mosquito Fire.
Campuses in the immediate area of the fire, such as Foresthill High School and Foresthill Divide School, are within evacuation zones and remain closed.
Updates on other wildfires
▪ The Dutch Fire, which ignited early Tuesday afternoon near Dutch Flat and spread rapidly at its outset, was 48 acres with 50% containment Wednesday morning. Neighborhoods in the Dutch Flat area just north of Interstate 80 were evacuated for roughly three hours, and I-80 was closed in both directions as crews battled the blaze. Forward progress has been halted.
▪ The Mill Fire, burning near Weed in Siskiyou County since Sept. 2, has burned 3,935 acres (6.1 square miles) and was reported 100% contained as of Monday evening. Fire growth has been minimal for days, and crews continue to mop up as the post-fire response begins. All remaining evacuations were lifted Monday, Cal Fire said. Two civilians were killed in the blaze.
▪ The Mountain Fire, burning east of Gazelle in Siskiyou County, has charred 13,436 acres (20.9 square miles) since starting Sept. 2 several miles west of the Mill Fire. It was 70% contained, firefighters said in a Wednesday morning update, no growth reported Monday or Tuesday. Seventy-five people remain under evacuation orders.
▪ The Fairview Fire, which has torched 28,307 acres (44.2 square miles) in Riverside County over the past week, is 69% contained. “Ample moisture” on Monday night, the remnants of Hurricane Kay, helped humidity recovery, and more showers emerged Tuesday evening, Cal Fire said Wednesday. The fire has killed two people, injured two firefighters and one civilian, and destroyed at least 22 structures along with more than a dozen outbuildings.
©2022 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
