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Weekend weather concerns Northern California firefighters

The Columbian
Published: September 16, 2022, 11:03am

FORESTHILL, Calif. (AP) — A weekend weather system could hamper firefighters’ efforts in Northern California to battle the week-old blaze that’s become the largest in the state so far this year.

The system is forecasted to bring colder temperatures and precipitation — from 1/4 inch to more than 1 inch of rainfall over several days — to the Mosquito Fire about 110 miles northeast of San Francisco.

But stronger winds are also expected to arrive in the area beginning today, and the winds could throw burning embers and create spot fires despite the rain.

“That’s a bit of a mixed blessing here,” fire behavior analyst Jonathan Pangburn said Thursday.

The forecast came as firefighters again prevented flames from entering a mountain town and reported major progress Thursday, just two days after the fire roared back to life and burned structures near Foresthill. Crews on the ground built up containment lines while water-dropping helicopters knocked down hotspots.

Conditions on the ground Thursday were “looking a whole heck of a lot better,” according to fire spokesman Scott McLean.

“It’s looking really good on the west end where we had that dramatic increase of fire earlier this week,” McLean said. Flames raced up a drainage ditch into a neighborhood, but firefighters saved all the homes.

Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Evacuation orders remained for some 11,000 residents because of the unpredictable nature of the winds, McLean said, which typically blow in the direction of several canyons and could rapidly spread flames if gusts pick up.

The Mosquito Fire was 20 percent contained after destroying at least 70 homes and other buildings. Total containment of the fire is expected to occur around Oct. 15.

The 109-square-mile blaze on Wednesday surpassed the size of the previous largest conflagration in 2022 — the McKinney Fire — although this season has seen a fraction of last year’s wildfire activity so far.

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