Firefighters gain containment line on Mosquito Fire - 16% contained, 48,700 acres

Firefighters gained a longer containment line around the Mosquito Fire Monday, and it is now 16% contained. There was slight growth today and the fire is currently mapped at 48,700 acres.

The unified command of the Mosquito Fire held their nightly virtual meeting at 7 p.m. and updated the community on everything from power lines to repopulation.

PG&E has been in the fire area pre-treating power lines with a solution to prevent poles from burning. So far they have treated more than 2000 assets. Just over 500 customers are without power.

There are 2675 firefighting personnel working on the fire.

"Our goal is to get you home as soon as possible," Incident Commander Jim Hudson said to those who are evacuating. He said once it is safe to do so they will start repopulating the communities. They cannot repopulate or allow residents to return to their property to retrieve items until deemed safe.

"We are keeping the fire in the smallest footprint as possible," added Hudson.

There has been a full attack on the Mosquito Fire with dozers, aircraft, and nighttime aircraft along with hand crews working in the long drainages in the Sierra at the eastern end of the fire. The whole area of the fire has historically dry fuels, which aids in the fire intensity.

Firefighters have been trying to use old fire scars and private work done in the area on the northeast and eastern ends of the fire where there is no containment. Fire officials also said previous fuels work in the area is helping them in their efforts.

Damage assessment teams have started working through the burned areas and a map was started on the El Dorado County side to show those properties that have been assessed, and if the property is safe, or damaged. The numbers below are after the first day of damage assessment. Residents in the Michigan Bluff area are asked to call 530-886-5390. See map here.

People Evacuated: 11,260
Structures Threatened: Approximately 5,848
Single Residences Destroyed: 25
Minor Structures Destroyed: 21

Law enforcement continues to work in the evacuated area to monitor unoccupied homes. There was another arrest Monday and one more citation issued for people in the evacuated area with what the sheriff's deputy said, are intents to steal. Not only are El Dorado County and Place County sheriff's deputies patrolling, but so are partners from multiple agencies.

For El Dorado County residents, visit https://edcgov.us/wildfire/Pages/Mosquito-Fire.aspx for fire information, and for Placer County residents, visit https://www.placer.ca.gov/8254/Mosquito-Fire-local-emergency.