Home Care In Foresthill, CA

Though California has seen millions of acres burn from wildfires in recent years as a changing climate brings high temperatures and persistent drought, several factors led to a quiet 2022 fire season

By Anne C. Mulkern & E&E News

California is enjoying fewer extreme wildfires than it has in years, which experts attribute to a combination of summer rain, calm weather and increased forest management.

As of Thursday, fires had blackened less than 363,000 acres throughout the Golden State. That’s far less than last year, when 2.5 million acres burned, and 2020, when fires torched a record 4 million acres.

“We are throwing absolutely everything we have at the fire conditions to try to keep people safe,” said Brian Ferguson, spokesperson at the California Office of Emergency Services. “But we’ve also got lucky and had some support from Mother Nature.”

But Ferguson and other experts warned that wildfires are now a year-round threat, largely thanks to climate change, which dries out vegetation and soil with record-breaking high temperatures and persistent drought.

Some of the state’s most destructive fires have happened at this time of year. The Camp Fire in Butte County hit in November 2018, destroying a town and killing 85 people. A year earlier, the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties hit in December and burned into January.

If California doesn’t see much rain or snow over the next few months, it will continue to be at risk for wildfires even as the temperature gets colder, said Max Moritz, wildfire specialist with University of California Cooperative Extension.

“The plants themselves are still under pretty extreme water stress, and they’re still potentially quite flammable, even if it’s cold,” Moritz said. “If we see again, you know, no rain until really late in the season, we could have winter fires and have some real problems.”

But this year, he said, fires weren’t ignited at the same time as California experienced extreme winds. That combination in the past has triggered some of the state’s biggest and deadliest fires.

This year’s heat waves also didn’t come with many lightning-triggered fires. In 2020, some 12,000 mostly dry lightning strikes over one August weekend ignited more than 600 fires in Northern California. Those resulted in the August Complex fire—a merging of blazes—that burned more than a million acres.

This year, lightning sparked slightly more than 220 fires on U.S. Forest Service land in California, said agency spokesperson Adrienne Freeman. But several of those came during strong rainstorms that wet vegetation, she said, decreasing the likelihood of fires igniting and spreading.

Rain also prevented the Mosquito Fire—which began in early September in Placer and El Dorado countries—from getting very large, said Michael Wara, director of the climate and energy policy program at Stanford University.

Models predicted the fire could burn all the way to North Lake Tahoe until a storm tied to a typhoon off the Gulf of Alaska brought rain to Northern California. About an inch and a half of rain helped douse the fire as well as vegetation that had become dangerously dry, Wara said.

“It could have been a pretty terrible fire season except that we had rain in mid-September,” he said. “That really made a huge difference.”

The storm decreased wildfire risk for several weeks. And then this month, more rain arrived.

A favorable window

A lack of wind has also allowed state and federal officials to spend more time clearing dry brush and setting controlled burns.

“This time last year, we were still fighting fires,” said Tony Andersen, deputy director at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, known as Cal Fire. “To get ahead of that, being able to put some proactive fire mitigation, fire prevention efforts on the ground during this favorable window in time has also been really helpful.”

The state has cut back about 315,000 acres of dry brush over the past three years, while the Forest Service has intentionally burned roughly 10,000 acres in the last 45 days.

Cal Fire inspectors have also conducted about 290,000 assessments with property owners to help them better prepare their home to resist a wildfire, Andersen said.

And while the state has seen 7,200 fires this year—compared to nearly 8,000 last year—the blazes have mostly stayed small.

Large fires often pull resources from throughout the state, meaning fewer firefighters in local areas to prevent small fires from growing. But a relatively quiet fire season enabled firefighters to jump on small blazes quickly, said Freeman of the Forest Service. This year’s budget also provided firefighters with more equipment.

“It’s a cycle,” Freemen added. “Once you get a couple big fires going, and you get more and more people dragged to those fires, you have fewer resources to stop the things at home.”

Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2022. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

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.

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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.

See all evacuation orders and warnings below. App users, click here.

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.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office issued a trespassing reminder after a teen’s social media stunt gone bad led to an emergency rescue.

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On Monday, Sept. 18, police responded to a report of a teenager hanging by a rope from the Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, approximately one hour west of Lake Tahoe. More than two dozen first responders arrived on the scene in response to the call, which was made by the friend of the teen in distress. The 19-year-old was rescued by a first responder, who rappelled approximately 30 feet below the bridge’s catwalk to retrieve the teen and bring him back up.

According to the sheriff’s office, the 19-year-old and his 17-year-old friend had been attempting to make a video of the teen swinging from the bridge. Neither party was injured, and both received trespassing citations, which have a maximum penalty of six months in jail or up to $1,000 in fines.

While it’s unclear what the friends intended to do with the video, many commenters on social media blamed TikTok, Instagram and other platforms for encouraging what one user called everything from “youthful nonsense” to “stupidity at its finest.” Many also suggested that the 19-year-old should be liable for the fees associated with his rescue. The Placer County Sheriff's Office allocated $169,950 in 2023 for search and rescue operations alone, not counting extra costs upward of $1 million for related support, such as air and marine rescue operations.

The Foresthill Bridge is the tallest in California and the third-tallest in the United States at 730 feet above the North Fork of the American River. The bridge is well known in the BASE jumping community, though access to the catwalk below the bridge is closed to the public. The bridge first became famous in the adventure sport community thanks to late free skier Shane McConkey, who was known for BASE jumping from the bridge in the mid-2000s.

In 2018, three men were arrested on a charge of trespassing after allegedly attempting to BASE jump off the bridge, and in 2020, a woman fell more than 20 feet off the bridge after seeing videos of people trespassing on social media.

“Risk of death is NOT worth your social media post,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office wrote following the 2020 fall. “STAY OFF THE BRIDGE.”

FORESTHILL, Calif. (KCRA) —

A 650-acre wildfire near Foresthill in threatening 400 structures in Placer and El Dorado counties, Cal Fire said Tuesday night. The fire is now 5 percent contained.

At least 100 homes in Placer County were evacuated Tuesday due to the steep and inaccessible terrain.

"This fire wasn’t immediately threatening the homes," Cal Fire spokesperson Daniel Berlant said. "But, because this community is a one way in, one way out, we want to make sure the residents, especially on the southern end of this subdivision, are evacuated."

Mandatory evacuations are in place for:

-Oakwood Court-Vinewood Court-Trail Head Court-Green Pine Court

Voluntary evacuations are in place for:

-White Tail Court- Alton Trail- Gray Court- Tevis Court

Cal Fire closed Nugget Drive and Oakwood Lane.

"It’s been kind of frantic because we really don’t know what’s going on," evacuee John Eddy said. "So, we’re just grabbing what we can. And, the important thing was to get home and get our dogs out, and you know, whatever pictures we can take with us in case we lose everything."

John Eddy lives on Gray Court with his wife Michelle Eddy.

"It’s been scary," Michelle Eddy said. "I was worried about the dogs. Once I got a hold of my husband, and I knew he was here getting the dogs, I was pretty good then."

Evacuees can go to Foresthill High School, officials said. Trailers and RVs can go to the Lower Mill site. Officials said animals can go to Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn.

As of 9 p.m., there were no evacuations in El Dorado County.

The blaze, called the Trailhead Fire, ignited before 2 p.m. along the middle fork of the American River outside of Todd Valley.

KCRA

Firefighters on the ground and in the air were working in 101-degree heat against the flames in a remote, rugged area that is difficult to access, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesperson Lynnette Round said.

"It's in some really steep terrain. We have air and ground units out there working really, really aggressively to put this fire out," Round said.

The fire was initially reported to be 20 acres, but then quickly grew to 100 acres. By Tuesday night, the fire was burning 250 acres in El Dorado County and 50 acres in Placer County. The blaze is 0 percent contained.

“It’s extremely difficult. I’ve been down in those canyons and that’s some rough territory,” evacuee Richard Wood said. “We’ve been here for 20 years, we’ve seen how [firefighters] respond to fires, they do a great job."

Cal Fire said the flames were boxed in by retardant lines as of 9 p.m.

About 250 firefighters are battling the flames, with four helicopters and eight air tankers.

Around 7:30 p.m., a drone was spotted over a section of the blaze, suspending the air attack in that area. Before 8:40 p.m., air attacks resumed in that area, with a D-10 air tanker returning to make drops over the flames.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said George Kellogg who came to photograph the Trailhead Fire from the ground. “The problem is there are huge air tankers coming in and they have to drop low. So, they can’t be bothered by a drone that’s flying in the area because it could get sucked up in the jet and cause a major accident.”

No injuries or structure damage had been reported as of Tuesday night.

___

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

California authorities released a dramatic image showing the moment a 19-year-old was rescued while dangling approximately 700 feet in the air underneath the state’s highest bridge.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office says two of its specialized units worked together in lowering a first responder to the person stuck on the Foresthill Bridge outside of Sacramento and "successfully brought him back up to the catwalk."

"Through the investigation, it was learned the 19-year-old subject and his 17-year-old friend were filming him swing from the underside of the bridge," the sheriff’s office said in a statement. "The 19-year-old became stuck, hanging approximately 30 feet from the underside of the catwalk when his equipment failed. His friend called 911 after they determined he was stuck and needed assistance."

More than two dozen first responders – including members of CAL FIRE – reportedly assisted in the effort Monday night.

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"The 19-year-old was checked on scene by medics and declined any medical attention, not having any obvious injuries," the Placer County Sheriff’s Office also said. "Ultimately, both subjects were cited for trespassing on the Foresthill Bridge."

RAILROAD BRIDGE PLATFORM COLLAPSE LEAVES AT LEAST 26 VICTIMS DEAD, OTHERS INJURED

According to the Placer County Visitor’s Bureau website, the bridge "spans across 2,428 feet over the stunning vistas of the American River’s North Fork and is reported to be the 3rd highest bridge in the United States and the tallest in California at 730 feet."

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"As you walk across, read decades of homemade inscriptions made by passersby through the years, many of them a monument to past and present relationships," the site says. "A fun fact for movie buffs: the bridge was used in 2002’s ‘xXx’ starring Vin Diesel. The film shows his character driving a stolen car off of the bridge and then jumping out of the car mid-air and parachuting down to the bottom of the American River Canyon! We don’t recommend trying this."