LOS ANGELES — The Mosquito fire in Northern California continued to burn into historically dry fuels on Wednesday, growing close to 60,000 acres. It is poised to surpass the McKinney fire as the largest blaze to burn in California this year.
The Mosquito fire, which is burning in Placer and El Dorado counties, grew by nearly 10,000 acres overnight, from 50,330 acres to 58,544 acres by Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Some maps that rely on aerial heat mapping measure the fire at more than 61,000 acres, although fire officials said those figures were premature.
The McKinney fire in Siskiyou County has burned 60,138 acres and is 99% contained.
Although wind is most often a major concern in the growth of wildfires, the Mosquito fire has largely been driven by historically dry vegetation, exacerbated by last week's historic, climate-driven heat wave, said Scott McLean, spokesman for the fire's joint command.
"Frankly, there's no moisture in the vegetation right now," McLean said. "You could throw one spark and it's going to start off."
Cooler weather, in the 70s, and more moisture in the air promised to provide some aid to fire crews cutting line around the massive blaze, which has already destroyed 64 buildings, damaged 10 and is threatening nearly 6,000 others.
Between the American River and burn scars from the King fire in 2014 is where the fire continued to burn most intensely, as flames pushed into dry wilderness areas, Cal Fire officials said.
Jonathan Pangburn, a fire behavior analyst with the agency, recalled the King fire, where firefighters faced similarly dry fuel, and in some instances, had been surrounded by fast-moving flames, forcing them to deploy their emergency fire shelters.
"Those events were similar to this, not wind-driven events, just fuel that was primed and ready and decided to get up with a hurry and put some people in some dangerous situations," Pangburn said. "We're ready for an absolute blowup out here."
Firefighters battled a spot fire that jumped the Middle Fork of the American River on Tuesday afternoon, which grew rapidly toward the community of Foresthill.
Protecting that community, located on the fire's southwestern front, remained a priority for fire crews on Wednesday.
"They had one heck of a fire fight up and around that community," said Dusty Martin, a Cal Fire incident commander. "That is not unexpected, could happen again today."
Smoke from the fire continued to blow throughout Northern California, deteriorating air quality in the Sacramento region, which on Wednesday saw air quality at "unhealthy levels" and with expected "hazardous" levels on Thursday and on into the weekend, the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District said on Twitter.
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