LOS ANGELES – The explosive Mosquito Fire burning in the foothills east of Sacramento, the capital city of the western US state of California, grew to 119.7sqkm yesterday at noon, some 60 hours after it was first reported on Tuesday evening.
“Today the Mosquito Fire showed extreme fire behaviour and growth, more than quadrupling in size,” Xinhua quoted the California Forestry and Fire Protection Department (Cal Fire) as saying in its latest briefing, adding that aircraft continued to have difficulty accurately mapping the fire’s perimeter due to heavy smoke.
The blaze has continued to erupt in size, up from 55.4sqkm reported Thursday evening and 27.9sqkm Thursday morning.
Some 1,700 personnel were assigned to the huge wildfire as of Thursday evening, according to Cal Fire. The Forest Service said more than 260 bulldozers are working on the scene.
As of Thursday evening, local authorities said the blaze was threatening 3,666 structures in El Dorado and Placer counties, while Georgetown, a historic gold rush town of close to 3,000 residents, was listed on the evacuation map.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday evening declared a state of emergency for El Dorado and Placer counties due to the Mosquito Fire.
A state of emergency was also declared early this week in Riverside County for Fairview Fire burning in Southern California, which consumed 111.1sqkm of land as of yesterday at noon. – Bernama, September 10, 2022
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