A new forest fire is spreading in California’s Sierra Nevada. The “Mosquito Fire” destroyed more than 16,600 hectares of forest in the mountain region in the center of the US state in just four days, as the California fire department reported today. Only about ten percent of the fire could be brought under control.
According to the local newspaper Sacramento Bee, three cities had to be evacuated. The fire brigade explained that further evacuation warnings and orders had been issued. The mountainous and difficult-to-access terrain makes extinguishing work extremely difficult, said fire department spokesman Chris Vestal on television station KSBW.
Only the day before, the fire brigade had reported successes in the fight against another forest fire. A tropical storm with rain and cooler temperatures enabled firefighters to push back the Fairview Fire south of Los Angeles.