Mosquito Fire up to 37,326 acres and burning in El Dorado and Placer counties

Members of the united command working on the Mosquito Fire held a community meeting Saturday, updating the public both in person and virtually on the status of the fire that started on September 6.

The fire has burned 37,326 acres and remains 0% contained.

There was an inversion over the fire overnight and for Saturday morning. When it lifted the large plumes of fire could once again be seen. There was some reprieve with lowering temperatures and a rise in humidity, but with volatile fire conditions, the fire remains active. Fire in the steep river drainages in the area continues to be hard to contain.

Homes have been destroyed but details on numbers have not been released. Officials said once a damage assessment team could safely enter the burned areas those numbers will be released.

There was an expansion of some mandatory and warning evacuation zones Saturday.

During the meeting, evacuated residents asked when they could return home.

"We want to make sure it is safe," said the incident commander. "The last thing we want to do is re-evacuate you."

They said it was a top priority to get them back into their homes.

"As we go through the weeks, we are here together to get the fire out," the incident commander added.

The united command group will now be holding nightly virtual meetings at 7 p.m. with updates on the Mosquito Fire. They can be found on both Placer County, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, and Forest Service Facebook pages along with YouTube. See below for links.

As officials went around the fire line they said the town of Foresthill is in danger and some homes have been lost, but they are getting closer to having a containment line on the southwest end of the fire though there is still a lot of work to do. Dozer lines are going in where it is possible.

More smoke has moved into the Lake Tahoe Basin tonight with air quality in the hazardous range.

Mosquito Fire Information:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8398/
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2022/9/6/mosquito-fire/
Information: 2-1-1

It is requested community members submit questions in advance of the nightly 30-minute briefings via Facebook Messenger to the agencies that will be participating to provide as much information as possible. Additional questions may be answered in the comments sections of the meeting after the virtual town hall is complete. Visit the live stream of your choice on Facebook at 7 p.m. at one of the listed links below or by scanning your preferred QR code:

CAL FIRE Nevada – Yuba – Placer Unit:https://www.facebook.com/CALFIRENEU/
U. S. Forest Service – El Dorado National Forest: https://www.facebook.com/eldoradonf
If you prefer to participate via YouTube, please visit the live stream at: www.tinyurl.com/mosquitofire

AirNow.gov - https://fire.airnow.gov/
PurpleAir - https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a0/p604800/cC0#9.93/39.0664/-120.0921