A UC Davis fire crew was assigned today (Sept. 9) to the front lines of the rapidly growing Mosquito Fire near Foresthill.

The blaze, in Placer and El Dorado counties, more than quadrupled in size over the last day, from 6,800 acres Thursday morning to nearly 30,000 acres and no containment as of 1:45 p.m. today, Cal Fire reported. More than 3,600 structures were threatened, evacuations had been issued and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in both counties.

The UC Davis crew headed out this morning after having been assigned to a prepositioned strike team in Yolo County since Sept. 3, Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said.

The campus firefighters, aboard Brush 34, are: Capt. Paul Rush; engineer Derek Carthy; and firefighters Meggie Elledge and Cara Martinez.