Mosquito Fire damage at 46,000-plus acres; 10 percent contained

This story was updated at 8:39 a.m. Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. UPDATE: A fire official said at Monday morning's briefing crews are "starting to see success" in the fight against the Mosquito Fire near Foresthill and in El Dorado County. Even so, another official said conditions are "very dry," and the blaze has "massive potential to run" as day crews head from base camp @attheGrounds in Roseville to the fire. The fire has burned 46,587 acres and remains at 10-percent containment. Sunday: Weather provides assist in fight against Mosquito Fire The Mosquito Fire was 10 percent contained and had burned approximately 41,443 acres as of Monday morning's update. According to the operational morning briefing, the nightshift was able to get the fire all the way down to the American River last night near the community of Foresthill. Officials stated there is still a lot of work to be done there, but it was a successful night near Baltimore Mine Road. According to the CAL FIRE incident page, cooler temperatures and higher humidity assisted with moderating fire activity. An increase in wind has continued the fire's spread to the north and northeast. Firefighters have been working diligently to build control lines along the area of Foresthill Road and out in front of the head of the fire toward the north and northeast. A spot fire in the area of Chicken Hawk occurred Saturday, which firefighters contained with the help of dozers and aircraft . A large amount of resources have been working to hold the fire at Volcano Road and north of Quintette. From Saturday Night: New evacuation orders have been issued as the Mosquito Fire grew to 37,326 acres burned Saturday evening. According to the CAL FIRE NEU Facebook page, evacuation orders were issued for Zone 21: South of the North Fork of the American River down to Elliott Ranch Road and Foresthill Road to Westville Road, Independence Hill Road, Bird Flat Road, Pioneer Mine Road and the China Wall OHV Staging Area. In Zone 22: South of the North Fork of the American River, north of the Middle Fork of the Rubicon River, west of French Meadows Reservoir and west of Sailors Canyon-Chipmunk Ridge. Georgetown and the Grey Eagle area - east of Breedlove Road, including both sides of Wentworth Springs Road, and west of Stumpy Meadows Lake - are also under mandatory evacuation order. The spread of the fire, burning 4 miles east of Foresthill and in El Dorado County, slowed on a cooler, more-humid Friday night and early Saturday morning, according to inciweb.nwcg.gov. Nearly 1,800 personnel are battling the Mosquito Fire, which is burning on "critically dry" vegetation, according to inciweb, which described the fire behavior Saturday as "moderate." The latest Mosquito Fire incident update listed 5,848 structures threatened and 11,117 total people evacuated. From Friday: Fire crews from Placer County agencies and up and down the state continued to battle the 3-day-old Mosquito Fire on Friday, trying hold off the blaze near Foresthill as it spread further into El Dorado County. The fire burned 29,585 acres as of noon Friday, according to the InciWeb Incident Information System. The fire initially doubled in size Thursday to 13,705 acres and jumped the American River into El Dorado County, and by the afternoon was moving in two directions, toward Foresthill and Volcanoville. The charred acreage nearly doubled again overnight. The fire twin plumes Thursday could be seen from as far away at Elk Grove. The fire ignited late Tuesday afternoon at Oxbow Reservoir and Mosquito Ridge Road near Foresthill. Thursday, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company submitted a report to the California Public Utilities Commission acknowledging an "electrical fault occurred close to the reported time of the fire." In an email to the Auburn Journal on Friday, PG&E stated it has observed "no damage or abnormal conditions to the pole or its facilities near the reservoir and has not observed any downed conductor in the area or any vegetation or tree on the line." PG&E said a 60-kilovolt transmission pole was replaced with a steel pole 10 years ago and an inspection of the equipment in recent months found no adverse conditions. Also Thursday, evacuations expanded to include Todd Valley and Volcanoville, bringing the total to 5,700 in Placer and El Dorado counties, according to a Placer County Sheriff's Office video released Friday afternoon. Evacuees on Thursday gathered in the Raley's parking lot at the corner of Foresthill Road and Lincoln Way. Many people stood on a small hill at the edge of the intersection to gaze at the massive column while a long line of traffic entered Auburn. On Friday, John Kranzler, owner of John Kranzler Construction, took up several parking spots in the parking lot. Kranzler said he was escorted out of Todd Valley about midnight Friday. He said he has a 93-year-old friend "who's in the end of her life I was trying to get, and they wouldn't let me go get her." Kranzler managed to evacuate with four trucks, four boats and considerable construction equipment, including a Bobcat, but he left much behind. "We're still kind of in shock," he said. "There was so much I had to leave. I had to pick and choose what's insured, what's not. I left some of my favorite things there that are insured, and it still hurts." Kranzler said his daughter evacuated with him and is staying with her grandmother in Auburn. His ex-wife evacuated a few days ago. As for returning, Kranzler initially heard he could be away from his home just "overnight" but also heard it could be as much as a week. "It's looking like it's going to be a while," Kranzler said. In a video update provided Thursday afternoon, CAL FIRE Unified Operations Section Chief Nolan Hale said the fire was continuing toward Foresthill and actively burning to the northeast. The Foresthill Fire Protection District confirmed the fire jumped the river Thursday afternoon and was burning toward Volcanoville. "It's moving in more than one direction," Foresthill Fire District Chief Jed Matcham said in an interview with the Auburn Journal. "It has moved up across Volcanoville Road, did that a little earlier (Thursday), and it's also moving toward Foresthill Road." Matcham also confirmed structures were involved. CAL FIRE reported powerlines and 1,002 structures continue to be threatened, and Jay Nichols of federal incident management team 5, said there was not yet damage assessment. Threats also existed to critical infrastructure such as the 230 kV transmission lines, Sugar Pine Dam and cellular and microwave towers. Placer County Water Agency Public Affairs Manager Ross Branch said Thursday morning PCWA's hydroelectric facilities were threatened but critical infrastructure and water service and supply were not at threat. Hundreds of fire crews battled the blaze Thursday, still with zero containment, creating fuel breaks and dumping retardant and water from the air onto steep terrain. As the fire grew, so did evacuations, including most of Foresthill proper. As of Thursday, evacuation orders in Placer County were listed for: Zone 1 - Michigan Bluff: Michigan Bluff, Gorman Ranch, Chicken Hawk, Ridge View and Deadwood roads. Zone 2 - Baker Ranch: Mobile Home Park. Zone 3 - Crystal View and Bath roads. Zone 4 - Foresthill: Foresthill Road from Idlewild Road to Bath Road, Powerline Road, Timberland Road and Sluce Box Road. Zone 5: Black Oak Ridge Road, Blackhawk Lane, Ebbert Ranch Road and Old Ebberts Ranch Road. Zone 6: Finning Mill Road to Sugar Pine Road to Elliot Ranch Road to Foresthill Road, Big Reservoir Road, Giant Gap Road, Hollow Log Road and Prospect Road, NF-10. The Placer County Sheriff's Office reported evacuation warnings for: Zone 7 – Todd Valley: South of Foresthill Road, north of the Middle Fork of the American River, west of Jarvis to include Patent and east of McKeon Ponderosa to the American River. Zone 8 – Sky View Mobile Home Park. Zone 9 – North side of Foresthill Road: North of Foresthill Road, south of Yankee Jims Road through Spring Garden to include Owl Creek and Pine Mountain and everything west of Power Line and Hard Rock. Zone 10 – Spring Garden/Whitehawk Ridge: North of Yankee Jims Road through Spring Garden and Ponderosa to the North Fork of the American River, south of the North Fork of the American River and south of Yankee Jims Road to Spring Garden. Zone 11 – Yankee Jims and Shirttail Canyon: North of Yankee Jims Road to include Shirttail Canyon, south of Big Dipper through Kings Hill and through Black Bear and Grills Hill and west of Finning Mill Road. Evacuation orders in El Dorado County included: • Volcanoville - North of Wentworth Springs, east of Otter Creek, south of the county line and west of Tunnel Hill Road. • Quintette - North of Wentworth Springs, east of Lofty Peak Lane, south of the county line and west of Blackeye Pea Road. • Bald Mountain and Grey Eagle - East of Breedlove Road (including both sides of Wentworth Springs Road) and west of Stumpy Meadows Lake. • Canyon Creek - East of Greenwood Road, south of the county line and north of Meadow Brooke Road. • Georgetown. Evacuation warnings are in effect for Cool, Garden Valley, Swansboro/Slate Mountain and East Stumpy Meadows. Road closures were implemented for Old Foresthill Road/Highway 49/Highway 193/El Dorado Street intersection, Foresthill Road and Lincoln Way. The Foresthill Post Office has closed. According to a United States Postal Service news release, mail for Foresthill customers has been temporarily redirected to the Auburn Main Post Office, 371 Nevada Street for pick up with photo ID. Foresthill Post Office services will resume when closures and road restrictions are lifted. Upper Lake Clementine and Drivers Flat (Ruck-A-Chucky) are closed, according to the Auburn State Recreation Area. According to Lt. Josh Barnhart with the Placer County Sheriff's Office, an Everbridge message will be sent to areas that have been already evacuated to provide the public with an update and further evacuation orders. "Right now, the general concern is, obviously, fighting the fire away from town here (Foresthill) and keeping it rural into the forest land but as you know, it's unpredictable and we have to be ready for it," Barnhart said Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday, the steep terrain was just one concern for fire crews. "It's very steep. It's in a lot of canyons," Vestal said. "It's not just hard to send people down or up, heat travels up. We don't want to put people in those areas because it will work literally like a chimney, and that's what we call it. The heat will get in there, and it will bundle up. Fire burns uphill. And of course, it's over 100 degrees, very hot. Humidity is extremely low and fuel moisture is extremely low. We have all the factors that are really going to contribute to fast and extreme fire growth." Planes and helicopters flew around the plume as it continued to rise high into the sky Wednesday afternoon, fluffy white at the top with lower layers of brown and orange. The plume was another cause for concern because of spot fires. The plume creates energy, and Vestal said hot weather, dry fuels and wind increased the odds for spot fires. "That's how embers travel over space, and they land and it's hot and it's dry," Vestal said, explaining "thicker, heavier fuels can carry ignition longer. And then you have the energy in this particular plume. You're actually having vegetation that's on fire lift up with that high-energy cloud and it travels up and it lands some distance away." The fire was initially estimated at 5-6 acres at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. The U.S. Forest Service reported the fire at 50 acres at 9 p.m. after a 10-acre spot fire was established over the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River. Jakob Schmitt of Citrus Heights said he was gold panning at the Ralston picnic area near Oxbow Reservoir when the fire broke out about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. In an email to the Auburn Journal, Schmitt wrote he was in the middle of the river "when I hear a flurry of honking and shouting. I stopped to listen and someone was yelling, 'There's a fire! We are evacuating! Get out!' I grabbed all of my gear, sprinted back to my car and started to drive up the hill back to Mosquito Ridge Road, not knowing the fire was directly on the other side of the ridge." According to CAL FIRE's Thursday morning update, full containment of the fire is expected on Oct. 15. Auburn Journal reporter Traci Newell contributed to this report.