The Mosquito Fire shows no signs of slowing down, and by sunrise it had already spewed a huge cloud of smoke rising over Placer County, signaling extreme fire activity on the ground. Cal Fire said “critical infrastructure” is threatened, including the Placer County Water Agency pump station and dam, the Placer County Fire Repeater Site, 230 kV transmission lines, Sugar Pine Dam and the community drinking water supply, the Ralston Hydroelectric Plant and cellular and microwave transmission towers. About ten minutes ago there was already a pretty big column on #MosquitoFire. As much as I would love to be back at that campfire, I have to go back to Chico for my 11am class. Plus… no laptop to download stuff from. pic.twitter.com/uDkZU2pTc0 — Michael Steinberg (@MichaelWX18) September 8, 2022 Multiple reports and photos posted on social media Wednesday night showed flames destroying a number of homes, structures and cars in Michigan Bluff, a historic Gold Rush town about seven miles east of Foresthill overlooking the North and Middle Forks of the U.S. river. #MosquitoFire damage along Michigan Bluff Road near High Street pic.twitter.com/6wj9Uhdimj — Lysée Mitri (@LyseeMitri) September 8, 2022 The fire started in the Tahoe National Forest at 6:27 p.m. on Sept. 6 near Oxbow Reservoir 3 miles east of Foresthill amid a record-setting California heat wave that sent temperatures above 100 degrees for several consecutive days. Hundreds of people were forced from their homes and evacuations remained in effect Thursday morning. (The live evacuation map is the best source for up-to-date evacuation information.) The fire is burning through vegetation left dry and highly flammable after days of hot weather. The area burned increased from 5,705 acres Wednesday night to 6,870 acres Thursday morning. Brent Wachter, a fire meteorologist at the US Forest Service’s Geographic Coordinating Center in Redding, said the extreme dryness of the landscape was evident in the nighttime hours after the fire first broke out. Fires often die down after sunset when winds die down and temperatures drop, but the mosquito fire continued to burn — and so it did last night. “That’s how flammable the fuels are. The fires are still actively growing overnight,” Wachter told SFGATE on Wednesday. Smoke from the fire spread into the Sierra foothills and flooded the Lake Tahoe basin. The Placer County Health Department has issued an air quality advisory for unhealthy air through September 9. This is a developing story and details will be added as they become available. People watch from a distance as the Mosquito Fire burns near Michigan Bluff in unincorporated Placer County, California, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via APA A flag waves behind a burned outbuilding as the Mosquito Fire burns along Michigan Bluff Rd. in unincorporated Placer County, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Noah Berger/APFirefighters with the Little Tujunga Hotshots watch a boomerang while battling the Mosquito Fire near Michigan Bluff in unincorporated Placer County, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)Stephen Lam/APA A firefighter with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Santa Clara Unit, heads to a hot spot while battling the Mosquito Fire near the Michigan Bluff in unincorporated Placer County, California. ,Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)Stephen Lam/APCORRECTS NAME TO GABE BARRIO INSTEAD OF JULIAN PELL – Captain Gabe Barrio sprays water on the burning Mosquito Fireluff. in unincorporated Placer County, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Noah Berger/APFirefighters battle the Mosquito Fire near Michigan Bluff in unincorporated Placer County, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)Stephen Lam/AP The California Mosquito Fire ignited near Oxbow Reservoir 3 miles east of Foresthill on September 6, 2022. Cal Fire
