(Bloomberg) -- A fire in Northern California grew overnight after dry winds Tuesday fanned flames, making the blaze the largest in the state so far this year.
The Mosquito Fire, which started Sept. 6, spread nearly 10,000 acres (4,046.9 hectares) and now covers a footprint of 58,544 acres in El Dorado and Placer counties, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. The blaze was 49,761 acres Tuesday.
Burning east of Sacramento, the fire had forced 11,277 people to be evacuated and was 20% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. It has destroyed at least 64 buildings and threatens nearly 6,000.
A record heat wave and deepening drought left much of California’s forests and hillsides bone dry ahead of what’s traditionally been the peak of fire season when hot winds can quickly whip a spark into fast-moving flames. Fire activity has been muted so far this year with a total of 335,682 acres burned, far below the nearly 2.5 million acres that were charred over the same period a year ago, according to Cal Fire.
Winds cleared away smoke and fire fighters managed to hold the flames back overnight along the southern edge of Foresthill and Todd Valley, according to Cal Fire.
“The fire area remains a dynamic situation that may change at any time, as evidenced by the fire activity on Tuesday afternoon,” Cal Fire said.
Evacuation orders remain in force.
Last week, PG&E Corp. said one of its power lines near the start of the fire experienced a fault close to the time the blaze was reported but showed no signs of damage. The US Forest Service had placed caution tape around the base of a PG&E pole area, the utility said. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
(Includes number of evacuations in third paragraph.)
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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