Residents of the town of Foresthill in Placer County can begin returning home as evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for the Mosquito Fire, officials said Monday afternoon. The Foothills area saw some light rain in the area, which crews took advantage of in getting a better handle on the wildfire.
With evacuation warnings, residents are recommended to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice in case wildfire activity becomes threatening, but it also allows for already evacuated residents to return home.
The reduction from order to warning is a big contrast from nearly a week ago when the wind-driven Mosquito Fire flared up and nearly tore through Foresthill.
Several other communities in Placer County were also given the green light to begin repopulating as well, allowing for a total of 2,128 residents to return to 983 homes.
Residents will have to show identification at the following traffic control points.
As of Monday morning, the fire has burned 76,290 acres and is 39% contained. Containment is a measure of the perimeter crews have established to prevent the spread of a wildfire.
Recommended
Thousands of people were allowed to go home on Sunday as more evacuation orders were downgraded in Placer County.
At least 78 structures have been destroyed, and 13 structures damaged.
Battling the Blaze
In its Monday morning incident update, Cal Fire said that containment on the Mosquito Fire almost doubled within the last 36 hours.
“This increase in containment can be attributed to the hard work of firefighters who have been working around the clock to strengthen and secure containment lines in and around the communities,” Cal Fire said.
Communities have also been able to repopulate some areas following the increase in containment and wet weather.
However, several evacuation warnings and orders remain in place.
Rain helped fight the fire Sunday, but Cal Fire said that added precipitation makes the landscape “more treacherous” due to muddy and slippery terrain.
A flash flood watch is also in place for the fire area due to potential ash and debris flow from forecast thunderstorms in the burn scar.
Some evacuation orders reduced
On Monday, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office reduced evacuation orders for the Volcanoville and Quintette areas to evacuation warnings. This reduction in orders also includes the area east of the intersection of Wentworth Springs Road and Wolfridge Road, west of Stumpy Meadows Lake, south of the El Dorado-Placer county line and north of Wentworth Springs Road.
Evacuation warnings were also lifted for the Canyon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle areas.
On Sunday morning, some evacuation orders in Placer County were reduced to warnings and people could start to go home. Zones 7B, 8, 9, 10, 11A, 12, 15 and 26 all on the west side of the fire are the ones that were downgraded.
At least 3,701 people are able to return home, according to the Placer County Sheriff's Office on Sunday. For those returning home to spoiled food, there are dumpsters available in the parking lot at the LDS Church on Todd Valley Road, authorities said.
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Some orders in El Dorado County were also downgraded on Sunday.
The communities allowed to return home include Cannon Creek, Bottle Hill and Grey Eagle. The warnings in Cool, Garden Valley, Georgetown Proper and Swansboro were lifted.
On Saturday evening, evacuation orders were reduced to warnings for Zone 12 in Placer County and some people along Foresthill Road, among others, will be allowed to go home. However, authorities warn people there is no gas available in Foresthill and Worton's Market remains closed.
Some residents in the community of Georgetown in El Dorado County were allowed to return home on Friday. The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office reduced the evacuation order, a lawful mandate to leave immediately, to an evacuation warning, which is a recommendation to be ready to leave in case wildfire activity becomes threatening. For evacuated residents, a drop from order to warning is also a green light for them to begin repopulating.
Evacuation orders were reduced for the area west of Wentworth Springs Road at Citabria Lane, north of Greenwood Road and Graybar Mine Road. Also included is east of Highway 193 at Sliger Mine Road, and south of Bottle Hill Road and Snow Cap Road.
The reduced orders do not include Sliger Mine Road north of Loriel Drive and Spanish Dry Diggins Road north of Odyssey Falls Drive.
Georgetown is about 18 miles north of Placerville and about 19 miles east of Auburn.
Evacuation centers
Placer County
Sierra College — 5100 Sierra College Blvd, Rocklin, CA 95677 (Parking in Lot B, the shelter will be in the Building J cafeteria)
El Dorado County
Cameron Park Services District — 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682. Overnight shelter, meals, showers, limited health services and parking for trailers will be provided. Animals in crates and carriers will also be accepted.
Green Valley Community Church — 3500 Missouri Flat Road, Placerville, CA. This location with accept human and small domestic animals on leashes or in creates. No Large animal and no birds. Limited RV parking and no hookups.
Animal evacuation centers
Placer County
Road Closures
The Placer County Sheriff's Office said hard road closures are in place on Foresthill Road and Lincoln Way in Auburn. There are also closures at the Old Foresthill Road at the Confluence.
The eastbound Interstate 80 offramp to Foresthill Road is closed due to the fire.
(Click through the gallery below for a glimpse at the firefight.)
Some Foresthill residents without power
As thousands return to their homes and businesses many are finding their utilities off.
The owner of Everybody’s Inn, a restaurant in Foresthill, opened Monday morning as a resource to the community.
“What they’re coming home to is no power, some no water, rotting food in their refrigerators and freezers,” said Cynthia Wardleigh, owner of Everybody’s Inn.
The Red Cross has opened as a resource in the Everybody’s Inn parking lot to aid the many repopulating the community.
Cal Fire explained the wet weather helps the fire "lay down." Though they worry in the coming days as conditions begin to dry, hotspots will likely reignite creating the possibility of further fire growth.
Foresthill students take classes in Auburn
High school is tough enough without students having to worry about their town or school burning in a massive wildfire.
Yet, for 200 Foresthill High School students, they are now taking classes at Placer High in Auburn while the town of Foresthill remains under an evacuation order because of the Mosquito Fire.
"The first few days, I wasn't able to focus because the fire kept getting closer and closer to our town," said Foresthill sophomore Bryce Dowling. Full story here.
Foresthill resident who didn't evacuate recalls terrifying flare-up
Mitch Griffith has lived in the town of Foresthill in Placer County for the last 22 years.
He is also one of the residents who chose to stay put when mandatory evacuations were issued for his home when the Mosquito Fire began threatening that area.
“Tuesday morning was a great morning,” Griffith said. “It was beautiful. Everything was great, and then this fire jumped up.” Full story here.
El Dorado County and Placer County residents can check if their home is destroyed
Residents in El Dorado and Placer counties can check if their homes have been damaged, destroyed, or still intact.
The sheriff's offices for both counties released their own respective interactive maps that let you click on homes that are color-coded based on the amount of damage. Damaged or destroyed homes will also include pictures showing what the house looks like. Homes without damage will not have their pictures posted.
View the El Dorado County map below. App users, click here.
View the Placer County map below. App users, click here.
State of emergency declared
Placer County issued a local emergency due to the blaze.
“A local emergency proclamation asserts continuing risk to life and property and that the response is beyond the capabilities of local resources,” a release from the county said. “Placer’s proclamation requests state and federal assistance, but neither a state nor a federal disaster has yet been declared that would authorize individual disaster assistance for residents and businesses.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom also declared a state of emergency in Placer and El Dorado counties due to the fires. With the state of emergency declared, that opens up federal resources to assist in combating the fire.
PG&E files incident report to CPUC
It’s still unclear how the Mosquito Fire started. However, PG&E filed a report with the state's public utility commission for a pole near where the fire started.
The U.S. Forest Service had placed “caution tape around the base of a PG&E transmission pole” the report said on Thursday. “Thus far, PG&E has observed no damage or abnormal conditions to the pole or our facilities near Oxbow Reservoir, has not observed down conductor in the area or any vegetation related issues.”
PG&E is investigating.
Here's a look at the current air quality in Northern California
Smoke from the Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties will continue to impact areas across the Sacramento region, according to Spare the Air. The Sacramento Metropolitan, El Dorado, Feather River, Placer and Yolo-Solano air districts forecast unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups in the region.