Police start tonight
tracking the mosquito fire.
It has now burned more than 63,000 acres.
Dozens of buildings have been destroyed
and 9200 more are threatened as we speak.
The fire is now 20% contained with more
than 3600 firefighters on the front lines.
Take a look.
This is the fire evacuation map.
It shows the areas under evacuation
orders and warnings.
And keep in mind,
evacuation orders have been in place
for more than a week in most places,
and so we do have team coverage tonight.
Starting with ABC 10s Luke Clary,
he spent the day with firefighters.
Temperatures have cooled now and so
fire activity will slow significantly
over the next several hours.
But as we have seen in the mosquito
fire in the last few days,
things can change quickly.
As the sun sets
over the mosquito fire.
Crews remain at work to prevent its
spread north of Forest Hill Rd,
so our firefighters are continuing
to hold that line in the corridor
to make sure that the fire
doesn't cross into the community.
This remains the number one priority.
Yeah, any structures, any businesses,
hand crews working in tandem with air
support to stomp out spot fires here.
It's basically. Pots.
Parts and pieces.
Now this can reignite if
something ever happened,
and so that's a big concern as well.
One day earlier on Tuesday,
a spot fire jumped the river and
threatened homes the day before that.
Big question is,
when do we really get to go home?
On Monday,
residents were already beginning to
lose patience with the evacuation order.
We're working to get them back in,
but this,
the situation is so dynamic and
yesterday was a perfect example of
how things can change in an instant.
But this?
This right here,
this fire that took place yesterday,
is a prime example.
Why evacuations take place the Sun
will set again on the mosquito fire,
perhaps many times before
anyone can go back home.
And so you can certainly feel for
folks who live in Forest Hill and
Georgetown and other forest towns who
badly want to return to their homes.
But as we have seen in recent
days and the mosquito fire,
things can change very quickly.
So it's important for people to
continue to observe those evacuation
zones as they continue this
fight against the mosquito fire.
Luke, Larry starting us off tonight,
thankfully Monica firefighters
facing better conditions,
well, certainly better
than what we saw yesterday.
So we still saw some fire growth,
some hot spots and the fire grew to
over 63,000 acres, 20% contained.
Tonight we have 10 mile per hour winds,
just a few of those hotspots and
that's basically been where we've
seen the hotspots throughout the day.
Also over towards the east
side of that flank,
still some hot spots over there.
That's mostly because of those W winds that
were prevalent throughout the afternoon.
Now winds are going to start
to shift for tonight.
On the temperature side of things,
it's still cool.
We're in the 40s right now for the Sierra,
50s and 60s for the foothills,
and even through the valley we're in the 60s.
You could see the smoke plumes clearly
coming out of that fire for today.
So there was still active growth.
As far as the smoke,
it's still really concentrated
along I-80 towards Reno,
even up towards Sierraville South Lake Tahoe.
A little bit of haziness right now,
but we're starting to see that shift of
those winds more downslope and that's
going to push that fire more down.
Into some of those canyons tomorrow,
we're right back at it.
The smoke starts to move its
way westward or eastward,
I should say,
with those westerly winds back
towards the Tahoe Basin.
And this is what we're watching,
that big shift in our weather pattern
with the chance of rain and breezy
conditions developing for the weekend.
Tonight in the valley,
we have some cloud cover moving through
temperatures in the upper 50s, low 60s,
cool weather ahead for tomorrow,
tracking that rain.
Chris coming
up, we'll check back in shortly,
Monica, thank you. You know,
so many talents are still being impacted
by the fires and we are keeping an eye.
Unfunky as well ABC 10s Van two
has more on air quality concerns.
The mosquito fires potential
impact to Truckee and the Tahoe
Basin is being closely monitored.
Meanwhile, authorities are warning
people who live in these areas
that now is the time to prepare.
You can see this sign outside of the
Truckee Fire Department saying no
your zone and are your go bags ready?
This is off Donner Pass Rd where you
can see that air quality in this area is
among the worst in the world right now.
Usually on a clear day down Donner
Pass Rd you can see a Ridge.
Up in the distance,
but now all you can see is a wall, a smoke.
This choking smoke hazardous
for all groups of people,
so outdoor activity is not advised.
In fact,
the Sacramento River Cats doubleheader
against Reno Aces postponed tonight,
classes at Truckee Meadows
Community College moving online,
and many after school
supports practices canceled,
though we did see some teams
practice during a window of moderate
air quality earlier in the day.
Businesses we've heard from also hit hard.
Many of them reporting a decline
of tourists in the area.
We spoke to the owner of Cornerstone Bakery,
which expanded 3 months ago
with Cornerstone Kitchen.
They say since smoke rolled in,
business has been cut in half and
they had to send home staff today.
They're worried how this will impact
their business if the mosquito fire
continues to grow and send smoke into
town for an extended period of time.
Just a lack of business
and learning to pay bills.
I mean our bills are going
to be hard to pay when.
We don't have anybody buying our food.
You know, a lot of our seating is
outside and you can't sit outside with.
Smoke. So we're we're holding tight
and hoping for the best and making
all the firefighters for their hard
work as these communities cope with
the smoke and keep an eye on the
growing mosquito fire authorities
say this is the time for Tahoe Basin
communities to prepare should evacuation
warnings or orders hit the area.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office
I sent a list of tips for folks,
including signing up for
local evacuation alerts,
hardening your home against Ember Showers,
and preparing defensible.
Space having your action and community
communication plans rather in place,
and for the numerous short
term rentals in the area,
it's very important to ensure that
guests have emergency information
and evacuation directions since they
will be unfamiliar with the area.
A wealth of tips and checklists can
be found at ready for wildfire.org.
Well, there are some who refused
to follow the evacuation orders.
People like John Peters and
his brother stayed behind,
protecting their business
and home of 12 years.
They say they could not get
everything out in time and it was
important to stay to try to save it.
It's scary
at times. The fire got
pretty close a couple of times.
I mean, I don't think we were unsafe.
We're just keeping everything
wet and watching for spot fires.
But it's not like it's real comfortable.
It's kind of boring. Now.
For those who did evacuate,
we do have phone numbers.
You can call For more
information about your home.
For Plaster County, the number is
530-886-5390. For El Dorado County, it is
530-621-7440.