Yosemite Wildfire Grows; State of Emergency Declared for San Francisco

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

August 26,2013; 9:54PM,EDT

 

 

Inmate firefighters walk along Highway 120 as firefighters continue to battle the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
One of the nearly 50 large fires burning across the nation, the massive Rim fire continues to burn along the edge of the popular tourist destination of Yosemite National Park.
The fire, named the Rim Fire, is burning in Tuolumne County, near Groveland along Highway 120. It has consumed nearly 150,000 acres since its start on August 17, and still has extreme growth potential, according to the governmental Incident Information System.
More than 3,600 personnel are working to battle the blaze that was only 15 percent contained as of Monday. The cause remains under investigation.
As visitors began to inquire about closures, visibility and conditions on Facebook, the National Park Service has issued several posts and created a website with more information for visitors.
"Most of Yosemite National Park is not affected by the fire and is relatively smoke-free," the website read on Aug. 25.
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Officials lifted evacuation orders late Saturday for residents from Highway 120 east to Buck Meadows and residents of Pine Mountain Lake, but a new evacuation was ordered Sunday for residents north of Old Yosemite Road.
Evacuation advisories are still in effect for Tuolumne City and nearby areas along the Highway 108 corridor.
As extinguishing efforts continue, the city of San Francisco is under a local State of Emergency to assist firefighting coordination.
More than 2.6 million people in the Bay Area receive water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite.
"This declaration will help San Francisco increase coordination and manage resources being deployed to support our local, federal and state partners who are fighting this fire," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said in a press release.
According to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission website, water quality is not being affected by the Rim Fire and water delivery is not being interrupted.
Their website also states that the fire has forced two of the three hydroelectric powerhouses that helps generate power for the city to be taken offline. However, delivery of electricity has not been impacted.
Because of the potential threat to the electrical and water supplies, California Gov. Jerry Brown also declared states of emergency in San Francisco and San Francisco County.
Though a recent Facebook update by the National Park Service states that Yosemite Valley and most of Yosemite has good visibility, dense smoke is pouring out of the area.

Satellite images reveal it has traveled as far as eastern Oregon and extreme western Idaho, passing over Reno, Nev.
Smoke will continue to spread through Monday, as winds are forecast to gust between 15 and 20 miles per hour in the afternoon and evening.
According to a radar image by the Sacramento National Weather Service, smoke from the fire is being reflected on radar, miles from Sacramento, Calif.
This reflection on radar is due to ash and debris being lifted by the heat of the fire, Senior Vice President of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Mike Smith said.
Circled on the radar, this image portrays smoke from the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., at 4:32 p.m. EDT, on Monday, Aug. 26, 2013. (Sacramento National Weather Service)
Gusty winds can hamper the containment effort by fanning the flames and allowing the blaze to spread further.
Beneficial moisture, but the threat for serious flash flooding, is on the way for parts of the drought-stricken Southwest from once-Tropical Storm Ivo.
The majority of that moisture and rain will bypass Yosemite through Monday, but the moisture could press far enough westward by midweek to trigger a shower or thunderstorm over the area.
Any rainfall would be beneficial, but the lightning and gusty winds accompanying any thunderstorm could hinder firefighting efforts.