Mosquito Fire evacuation warnings: Your emergency kit checklist, map and how to help

As the Mosquito Fire continues to blaze through both Placer and El Dorado counties, many residents have either been displaced or are in jeopardy of being evacuated from their homes.

Since the fire began one week ago, it’s burned nearly 50,000 acres, displaced more than 11,000 residents, threatened nearly 6,000 structures and destroyed at least 46 buildings, according to CalFire’s Mosquito Fire incident update Tuesday.

The fire is at 18% containment as of Tuesday. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Here’s what you need to know about assembling an emergency supply kit for an evacuation, which Northern California communities are under evacuation warnings and where to donate to the victims of the Mosquito Fire:

What goes inside an emergency supply kit?

Everyone should have their own emergency supply kit packed in a backpack and food and water sealed in a wheeled-chest in the case of an evacuation.

Here’s what you need to pack, according to CalFire, for an extended period away from your home:

• Three-day supply of non-perishable food and three gallons of water per person
• Face masks
• Map marked with at least two evacuation routes
• Prescriptions/medications
• Clothes
• Eyeglasses/contact lenses
• Car keys
• Credit cards, cash or traveler’s checks
• First-aid kit
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered radio
• Extra batteries
• Sanitation supplies
• Copies of important documents like birth certificates and passports

Pet owners should also pack food and water for their animal.

If you’ve been ordered to evacuate your home and have time to grab a few more things, here’s what items you should consider packing:

• Valuables/irreplaceable items that won’t weigh you down
• Hard drives/disks filled with personal information
• Chargers for electronic devices

Could I be evacuated from my home?

Areas in both Placer and El Dorado counties have been issued evacuation orders. The following roads and terrain in Placer County, according to Placer County’s public safety map, are under evacuation warnings:

• Yankee Jims Road and Shirttail Canyon Road

• Foresthill Road at Lake Clementine Road

• Sawtooth Ridge to the American River

EL DORADO COUNTY

Evacuation warnings have been issued for the following communities in El Dorado County, according to El Dorado County’s Mosquito Fire status map:

• Cool
• Garden Valley
• Swansboro/Slate Mountain
• East Stumpy Meadows

How can I help?

• Placer Community Foundation - funds made to the Mosquito Fire Relief Fund will be directed to “where the needs are greatest.”
• American Red Cross California Gold County Region - filter monetary donation by frequency, amount and what you want it to be used for.
• El Dorado Community Foundation - monetary donations made to the Mosquito Fire Relief Fund will support families in El Dorado County who’ve been affected by the Mosquito Fire.
• Mosquito Fire Relief Fund Application - a “simple” application for primary residents of Georgetown and Volcanoville displaced by the Mosquito Fire.

ANIMAL DONATIONS

Placer County Animal Services Center at 11232 B Ave. is one of several animal evacuation centers open in Placer County. It’s at full capacity and is no longer taking anymore evacuated animals.

Donations can be dropped off daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside the community room of the Placer SPCA Adoption and Education Center at 200 Tahoe Ave., Roseville.

The center is seeking monetary donations as well as the following items:

• Feliway
• Unopened dog/cat food
• Disposable cat litter pans
• Cat litter
• Unused disposable food trays
• Food dishes
• Fly spray
• Livestock buckets
• Low-sided rubbermaid livestock feeding pans
• Fly masks for horses
• Dog/cat treats
• Pine shavings
• Goat feed
• Pig feed
• Duck/geese feed
• Sweet feed
• LMF Senior Equine Food Bags
• Leashes/collars
• Pine Shavings
• 50/50 Alfalfa
• Orchard grass hay

The following items won’t be accepted, according to Placer County Animal Services:

• Towels, blankets, bedding
• Crates or carries
• Pet toys

This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Mosquito Fire evacuation warnings: Your emergency kit checklist, map and how to help."