We’ll have all the latest news on the Mosquito Fire and other major wildfires in California throughout the day.
Abysmal air quality turns the sky orange in the Tahoe region Ash and particulate matter from the fast-moving mosquito fire has made air quality hazardous and is painting skies a hazy orange. AlertWildfire cameras show shades of orange, pink and gray covering the North Tahoe area and closer to where the fire is burning in Placer and El Dorado counties. As a result of extreme fire behavior, small particles of dust, soot and ash are deposited in the air. In the areas around the fire, air quality index levels are more than 300, which can cause serious health effects. The extreme scene comes two years after dozens of fires sparked by lightning across the state turned skies an apocalyptic orange in places far from the flames, such as San Francisco.
Hurricane Kay causes extreme weather in California The remnants of Hurricane Kay are likely to bring tropical moisture to the Bay Area over the weekend, with a chance of rain, but in Southern California the tropical system is causing severe weather. Caltrans workers remove a fallen tree blocking access on SR-79 between Paso Picacho Campground and Lake Cuyamaca on Friday, September 9, 2022 in San Diego, California. A wave of clouds and precipitation associated with Tropical Storm Kay in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula hit Southern California’s extreme temperatures at times were also a potential problem for solar production. The storm was downgraded to a hurricane Thursday night. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)Nelvin C. Cepeda/Associated Press Kay is moving northward off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula and has already brought more than two-tenths of an inch of rain to San Diego County’s Laguna Mountains and the Cleveland National Forest. There are risks of torrential rain and flash flooding over the next few days for canyon crossings and roads near towns like Murrieta and Escondido.
Highway 193 closed due to mosquito fire California State Route 193, which runs through Placer and El Dorado counties, is closed due to the Mosquito Fire, according to an update from Caltrans. The expected reopening time of the freeway, which is within the mandatory evacuation area, is currently unknown. “Please avoid the area if possible to allow emergency crews access,” the agency said.
The Mosquito Fire is raging across nearly 30,000 acres
The Mosquito Fire burning in Placer and El Dorado counties grew to 29,585 acres in size late Friday morning, according to information released by the U.S. Forest Service.
Fire smoke and cloud cover could reduce solar output by up to 60% The grid could see as much as a 60% reduction in solar output — about 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts — because of wildfire smoke and cloud cover on Friday, grid operator COO Mark Rothleder said at a morning news conference. of Friday. On Thursday, the grid saw a 30 percent drop in solar output — about 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts — because of cloud cover and smoke, Rothleder said. Demand peaked Thursday at about 48,300 megawatts, significantly lower than the 50,000+ megawatts of demand seen in earlier days of the heatwave. The sun peeks through thick smoke over an evacuation center at Bell Road Baptist Church in Auburn, Calif. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 after evacuations from the Mosquito Fire in unincorporated Placer County south of Foresthill. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Demand is expected to peak Friday at 46,118 megawatts, with the grid currently at 54,739 megawatts, as of 10:50 a.m.
Forestville couple forced to flee over mosquito fire fears over fate of home and cats As the Mosquito Fire sparked and then exploded into a massive inferno in the foothills of California’s Gold Country on Wednesday, Mary Garbe was celebrating her 68th birthday in her Forestville mobile home, the fire weighing heavily on her mind. But when local Sheriff’s deputies arrived the next day and urged them to evacuate, she told her husband, Ken, 72, she wasn’t going. Their seven cats, including five kittens, had not yet returned home. He didn’t want to leave them behind. “I’m not going,” she told her husband, Ken. “I should be handcuffed.” By Friday morning, the smoke grew heavier, their air choked as temperatures climbed into the triple digits, and her husband convinced her to leave. “I just kept petting her,” he said. They left their front door open, hoping the cats would return, grabbed their important documents, a safe filled with the last of their money, and headed to the Baptist church in Auburn that had opened as an evacuation center, joining thousands of residents who were forced to leave their homes. Mary wondered about her cats. “I miss them,” he said. Ken was worried about the house. “We’re going to be homeless if the trailer burns down and 72 is too old to be homeless,” her husband said.
Federal Mosquito Fire Grants Available Governor Gavin Newsom said today that California has received a fire management assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support local agencies as they battle the Mosquito Fire. The grants “allow local, state and tribal agencies to apply for reimbursement of up to 75 percent of their eligible fire suppression costs,” Newsom’s office said.
Fire smoke will push into the Bay Area today and Saturday Smoke from the mosquito fire has reached the Bay Area, bringing hazy skies with it. “It’s going to start to dissipate a little bit today, but tonight we’re going to have higher concentrations of smoke coming back into the Bay Area,” National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah McCorkle said. Smoke from wildfires across the state is pushing into the Bay Area today and tomorrow, but most of the smoke is expected to be elevated. Pay attention to air quality alerts from local air quality areas and get the latest information at pic.twitter.com/QJqg08kuoE — NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) September 9, 2022 Tropical Storm Kay in southern California shifted wind patterns to east-west, carrying smoke from the Mosquito Fire into the Bay Area, McCorkle said. Smoke could begin to drift north on Saturday, McCorkle said. Most of the smoke is at high levels, McCorkle said. Air quality in the Bay Area currently ranges from “Good” to “Moderate” on the Air Quality Index, according to AirNow, a service operated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Terrible, not at all good, very bad air quality” across California The mosquito fire is causing “terrible, not good, very bad air quality” in California’s Central Valley, according to Sonoma Tech meteorologist Jeff Beamish. As of 9:45 a.m., he said most regulatory and retail air monitors reported an unhealthy air quality index rating from the area east of downtown Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. Cal Fire officials said they were unable to accurately map the perimeter of the fire due to smoky conditions
About 2,000 structures are threatened by the Mosquito Fire in El Dorado County El Dorado County says 2,000 structures are under immediate threat from the Mosquito Fire, with another 11,500 in warning zones, with more than 17,000 residents affected. The fire continues to move quickly, forcing one evacuation shelter, Cool Community Church, to close after falling into the evacuation warning zone.
Sheriff Placer is reporting 100 foot flames in the Mosquito fire Flames up to 100 feet high shot through the trees as the Mosquito Fire ripped through Foresthill, according to an update from the Placer Sheriff. “Fire crews worked hard to knock them down,” the office said in a tweet. The fire has now grown to 14,250 acres and is 0% contained, Cal Fire said. The fire has quadrupled in size and spread into El Dorado and Placer counties. “Authorized personnel continued to improve the existing control line and construct new control lines and also assessed and prepared the structures threatened by the fire,” the agency said in a briefing Friday. “The fire is burning in extremely difficult terrain, including steep canyons, where direct attack on the fire can be difficult.”
Hazardous air quality was recorded near the perimeter of the Mosquito Fire Air quality index levels are quickly approaching 300 and above around the perimeter of the Mosquito fire Friday morning, with more scattered 150-200 (unhealthy) levels being measured across the Northern Sierra. Winds in the upper atmosphere (15-20,000 feet) will shift to easterlies this afternoon thanks to the remnants of Cay to our south. This is important because the core of the cumulus clouds that emit smoke from the fire is around this height. So we can expect some of the smoke particles to be blown into Sacramento…
