Mosquito Fire grows to over 41,000 acres as crews make progress

PLACER COUNTY – The Mosquito Fire continued to grow and threaten thousands of structures in Placer and El Dorado counties Sunday, but firefighters noted that growth has slowed amid cooler weather conditions.

According Cal Fire reports Sunday morning, the fire has burned at least 41,443 acres with containment raised to 10%. The number of structures threatened has grown to more than 5,800.

According to the Placer County Sheriff, 11,117 people have been evacuated, with 5,901 of those residing in Placer County. Evacuation maps have been issued by the Placer County Sheriff's Office and the El Dorado County Sheriff.

The fire, which started near the Oxbow Reservoir in Placer County on Tuesday, continued to grow toward the north and northeast. With the increase in fire activity to the east of the communities of Foresthill, several more Evacuation Orders and Warnings were issued, Cal Fire said.  

Officials said the hot and dry conditions that have persisted for the past several days will moderate slightly, due to the moisture effects from the remnants of Hurricane Kay, which brought heavy amounts of rain to parts of Southern California.

Meanwhile, an air quality advisory for wildfire smoke remains in place for much of the Bay Area through the weekend.

"Smoky, hazy skies may be visible and the smell of smoke may be present, but air quality is not expected to be unhealthy," the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said Friday. "If you smell smoke, take steps to avoid exposure."

Air quality is far worse in the Tahoe area, where hazardous levels of particulates were being reported at many locations throughout the basin.

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• Wildfires
• California Wildfires