Work still to be done on Mosquito Fire which remains at 39% containment, 76,290 acres

Over an inch of rain fell over the Mosquito Fire on Monday, helping firefighters with their efforts but creating a new problem - flooding and mudslides.

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Sacramento has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the Mosquito Fire burn scar through midnight Tuesday, September 20. Ash and debris flows caused by heavy rain are possible.

The Mosquito Fire remains at 39% contained, 76,290 acres in size. Fire officials said during their Monday evening briefing that they experienced minimal fire behavior during the day due to the rain and were able to continue mop-up and move into areas they hadn't been in at this point. Fire activity has slowed down, but the firefighters have not. While the rain presents a different set of challenges to the fire-suppression effort, crews continue to work, taking advantage of the lull in fire activity to secure the fire perimeter and increase containment before warm, dry weather returns.

"There is still work to be done," said Operations Chief Dave Soldavini. He said they need to button up fire lines and trees and ground cover are still burning and holding heat where the rain can't reach.

Fire meteorologist Eric Kurth said they are getting some heavy rain on the burn scar, and besides the potential for debris flows and flash flooding there is also a change for lightning and thunder. There will be rain lighter than today until Thursday, then there will be warming temperatures and drying out through the weekend.

Repopulation is occurring in some previously evacuated areas in Placer and El Dorado counties.

The fire remains under unified command. Incident Chief Carlton Joseph said the weather gave them some opportunities. First was the repopulation of a large group of residents, then secondly, they were able to gain a lot of ground and look forward to the same in the coming days. Joseph said they had a chance to step back and create larger-scale plans and are poised to take advantage of that.

Over 3,000 firefighters remain on the fire to make sure the fire doesn't get bigger once the rain stops.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The next community virtual meeting will not occur on Tuesday and Wednesday and they will come back to the public on Thursday. The Inciweb website will continue to be updated as will their social media.