“I would say the fire activity was extreme and significant,” Cal Fire spokesman Chris Vestal said at 7:30 a.m. of Friday for the night activity. “The fire was very active.” Vestal said the agency was still determining the extent of the acreage the fire had consumed overnight. Last night, Cal Fire said the fire that started near Foresthill in Placer County was 13,704 acres. The fire made a 5,000-acre push by midday Thursday, with fast-moving flames jumping the American River and moving from Placer County to El Dorado County, burning some homes in Volcanoville and forcing residents of the historic Gold Rush town of Georgetown (pop 3,000) to leave their homes. As of Thursday night, the fire threatened 3,666 structures.
Stephanie Lake evacuated her hilltop home near Georgetown on Thursday after sheriff’s deputies knocked on doors telling people to get out. “The dogs are in the back of the car, I’ve got a room for the night, so I’m ready to go,” Lake told the Sacramento Bee. Firefighters are battling the blaze along Mosquito Ridge Rd. near the community of Foresthill in Placer County, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. Noah Berger/AP The fire started in the Tahoe National Forest at 6:27 p.m. on Tuesday near Oxbow Reservoir, 3 miles east of Foresthill, amid a punishing California heat wave that has sent temperatures over 100 degrees for more than a week. The flames are tearing through vegetation that has been left parched and highly flammable after due to the hot weather. Another dangerously hot day with temperatures over 100 degrees is forecast for Friday. Some relief is expected Saturday as clouds, the remnants of Hurricane Kay, push into Northern California. By Sunday, temperatures are expected to drop into the 90s. “We have the same weather today, so the fire activity will probably be similar to what we had yesterday,” Vestal said. “The potential for growth is similar. It will definitely be cooler this weekend, but that doesn’t always mean less fire activity. Fuel moisture is still low. . . 90 degree temperatures are still relatively hot. We haven’t had good moisture recovery by overnight. Expected cutoff is October 15th. We still have a long way to go.” At a town hall in Auburn Thursday night, officials said mitigation measures have been taken to protect Foresthill, a former Gold Rush camp that is now home to about 1,700 people. “It’s getting close to some structures,” said Matthew Radke, superintendent with the American River Hotshots. “I want you to know that we have resources in there to protect all the structures.” He later added: “We are proud of the progress we have made at Foresthill.” Radke said the fire crossed the American River near Volcanoville about noon Thursday. “Volcanoville has definitely been affected,” said Cal Fire Chief. “There were definitely some structures destroyed there. I can’t say exactly how many, but it’s certainly not the whole community by any means.” A hand crew prepares to battle the Mosquito Fire along Mosquito Ridge Rd. near the community of Foresthill in Placer County, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. Noah Berger/AP The cause of the fire is under investigation on Friday. PG&E said that “out of an abundance of caution,” it filed a report Thursday with the Public Utilities Commission about an electrical outage that occurred near the time the Mosquito Fire ignited Tuesday and near the location where the fire started. from the utility said. The U.S. Forest Service placed caution tape around a transmission pole in the area, and PG&E investigators said they found no damage to the pole or its facilities near the reservoir and “did not observe any downed conductors in the area or vegetation or trees on the line .” PG&E filed for bankruptcy in 2019 amid billions of dollars in claims for fires started by utility-owned equipment. A damaged structure sits in a clearing as the Mosquito Fire burns along Michigan Bluff Rd. in unincorporated Placer County, California, on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Noah Berger/AP California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency because of the Mosquito Fire in Placer and El Dorado counties and the Fairview Fire in Riverside County, his office announced Thursday. The Associated Press contributed to this story. This is a developing story. Details will be added as they become available.