MOSQUITO FIRE SUNDAY UPDATE: Containment increases to 34% as rain arrives

This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. As burned acreage approached 75,000, containment on the Mosquito Fired increased to 34 percent as firefighters overnight strengthened existing containment lines, notably "on the south and western flanks," according to the Sunday morning incident report. Crews also monitored control lines on Deadwood Road because of pockets of heat below those lines. Firing operations along Interbay Road helped "in stopping the fire's spread eastward," according to the incident update. Rain arrived and is expected to increase throughout Sunday and get heavier Sunday night and Monday. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s with higher humidity Sunday, but southwest wind is expected to pick up to 24-28 mph "over the ridges," according to the incident update. Firefighters on Sunday will tie in control lines from Eleven Pines Road through Devil's Peak to the rim of the Rubicon River, the incident update notes, and continue to solidify the corners of the fire and ensure the southern and western flanks' hold along the communities. The Mosquito Fire has burned 74,748 acres since igniting late Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 6, near Oxbow Reservoir. The cause remains under investigation. Several structures in the Michigan Bluff area are among the 78 total that have been destroyed by the Mosquito Fire. Structures also have been destroyed in Foresthill. In El Dorado County, much of the structure damage has been along Volcanoville Road. Evacuation changes Repopulation may now occur in Zones 8, 9, 10 and 11A, which are now in evacuation warning status. The evacuation order has been changed to an evacuation warning in Zone 7B, which includes Todd Valley, east of McKeon-Ponderosa, west of Jarvis Road, south of Foresthill Road and north of the canyon rim of the Middle Fork of the American River. The evacuation warning status has been lifted in Zones 12, 15 and 26. In El Dorado County, evacuation warnings have been lifted for Cool, Garden Valley, Georgetown and Swansboro while evacuation warnings are now in effect for Cannon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle.