Tag: Mosquito Fire

3 p.m. September 12, 2022

On Sunday the east side of the Mosquito Fire spread as much as a mile to the east. Having already burned through most of the footprint from the 2007 Ralston Fire, for the first time it moved into the 2013 American Fire and the 2014 King Fire. It did not burn enough of those two more recent fires to get a good picture of how likely it is to spread completely through those eight and nine year old footprints.

At 1:19 p.m. Monday it was mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at about 48,500 acres. The blaze is 35 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Monday afternoon satellite and ground based cameras showed clouds, haze or smoke, and scattered thunderstorms in the general area of the fire. Light showers were reported in some areas. If strong outflow winds from passing thunderstorms hit the fire area without any rain it could increase the rate of spread significantly, sometimes in unexpected directions.

Crews working Sunday night on the southwest side between Foresthill and Volcanoville had to stop a strategic firing operation due to a small amount of rain. If conditions permit they hope to continue the operation today.

The weather forecast for Monday through Wednesday is for light to moderate winds of 2 to 9 mph generally from the southwest during the day  with minimum humidities in the 30s and 40s. Thursday through Saturday the winds will be very light while the humidity will be in the 40s.

In the video below watch how smoke from the Mosquito Fire overtakes Reno, Nevada.

Watch until the end! Smoke from the #MosquitoFire came racing into Reno/Sparks this afternoon. Smoke is expected to linger in the Tahoe Basin and Greater Reno/Sparks/Carson City/Minden areas through tomorrow. For more information: https://t.co/HbSuxy5V5p pic.twitter.com/udHzLFYBYY

— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) September 12, 2022

Updated 9:41 a.m. PDT Sept. 10, 2022

The Mosquito Fire at Foresthill in Northern California was very active again Friday, but did not spread as much as in recent days. That was due to the overnight and morning inversion layer dissipating later than usual and very little wind, ranging from calm to three mph Friday and Friday night. The temperature was 93 degrees and the minimum relative humidity was 21 percent.

The forecast for Saturday is 88 degrees, afternoon winds out of the southwest at 8 mph, 50 percent cloud cover, and 27 percent relative humidity. Sunday should be about the same.

Despite the moderate weather conditions, on Friday there was incremental growth on most of the perimeter except for along Foresthill Road and the area 1 to 5 miles east of Volcanoville. At its widest point the fire is 12 miles long.

The fire was mapped Friday night at 33,753 acres.

The Incident Management Team plans to provide structure defense and point protection for values at risk and protect private timberlands.

The map below shows fires in the National Interagency Fire Center database that have occurred in the area since 1990. It appears possible that under extreme weather and fuel conditions the fire could spread significantly to the east or northeast. The Mosquito Fire about 6 miles from the 2014 King Fire and 28 miles from Lake Tahoe.

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11:55 a.m. PDT Sept. 9, 2022

Firefighters have been working hard to save structures in the Foresthill area as the Mosquito Fire grows larger. Early unofficial reports say they were successful.

Most of the movement is to the east and southeast, but it has also been spreading west into the community of Foresthill and has moved into El Dorado County. It was mapped at about 11 a.m. Friday at 29,585 acres.  Friday morning the area is thick with heavy smoke, preventing tactical aircraft from flying.

Cameras were able to provide images of the fire into Thursday night until smoke obscured the view.

Fire officials are aware of damage to structures in the Michigan Bluff area, and possibly other locations, and will survey the effects when it can be done safely.

The status of evacuations has changed. Placer County has a map showing evacuation orders and warnings. El Dorado County also has a map.

The blaze exhibited extreme fire behavior Thursday, forming huge rotating convection columns.

15 minute timelapse to 7:55pm with column rotation on #MosquitoFire 9/8/2022 #CAwx @FireWeatherLab @nplareau #firewx https://t.co/L2KVDmTJqv pic.twitter.com/CGrqikn1AJ

— Rob Mayeda (@RobMayeda) September 9, 2022

Updated 6:50 p.m. PDT September 8, 2022

The Mosquito Fire east of Foresthill, California made an impressive run Thursday afternoon, growing from 8,265 acres at 1:30pm to 13,705 acres at 5pm — an increase of 5,440 acres in about 3.5 hours. Most of the growth was on the east half of the fire but the west side spread closer to Foresthill.

At times the rapidly expanding fire was putting up multiple convection columns topped by pyrocumulus clouds.

The number of areas under evacuation orders has increased. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has produced a map with the details. You can follow the Sheriff on Facebook and Twitter for evacuation updates.
https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff
https://twitter.com/PlacerSheriff

On Thursday structures were being threatened in Volcanoville and Foresthill.

On Thursday afternoon the temperature topped out at 101 degrees in Foresthill, the relative humidity dropped to 15 percent, and the wind was only 2 to 5 mph mostly out of the west. The forecast for Friday calls for 102 degrees, 15 percent RH, and winds out of the east and northeast around 5 mph shifting to the west/southwest at 6 to 12 mph in the afternoon with gusts up to 20 mph.

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Updated 7:43 p.m. PDT September 7, 2022

Wednesday afternoon the Mosquito Fire east of Foresthill, California spread significantly north and east. On the north side it moved into the Michigan Bluff area, while on the east side it spread beyond Gorman Ranch Road, along Mosquito Ridge Road, and across Blacksmith Fit.

At about 4 p.m. the FIRIS aircraft mapped it at 4,223 acres, an increase of approximately 3,000 acres since 11 a.m.

Right on target ✈️ ? @Ten_Tanker @accuweather #MosquitoFire #CAwx pic.twitter.com/WU5HAlzDqM

— Bill Wadell (@BillWadell) September 8, 2022

Evacuation information is below.

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3:23 p.m. PDT September 7, 2022

Evacuations have been ordered for the Mosquito Fire in the Foresthill area of Northern California, 17 miles northeast of Auburn.

Wednesday morning the fire was about a mile east of Foresthill, and was burning very actively during the afternoon. The estimated size at about 11 a.m. was 1,220 acres.

Most of the fire is within the boundaries of the Tahoe National Forest. It was reported at about 6:27 p.m. Tuesday September 6.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has ordered evacuations. They produced a map with the details.

You can follow Placer County Sheriff on Facebook and Twitter for evacuation updates.
https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff
https://twitter.com/PlacerSheriff