Yosemite Fire Grows to Fourth Largest in State's History

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

September 1,2013; 4:56PM,EDT

 

 

Stanislaus Hot Shots help to battle the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013. (Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service)
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 more than 222,000 acres since its start on Aug. 17. CAL FIRE's Department Information Officer Daniel Berlant stated on Twitter that the fire is now the fourth largest in California's recorded history.
The largest California wildfire was the 2003 Cedar fire in San Diego County that left 14 people dead, more than 2,800 structures destroyed and more than 273,000 acres consumed.
The Rim Fire is also the largest U.S. fire so far in 2013, according to the Incident Information System, a governmental website. It still has extreme growth potential.
Nearly 5,100 personnel are working to battle the blaze that was 40 percent contained as of Sunday morning. The cause remains under investigation.
A mandatory evacuation notice was issued Friday night for areas north and south of Bull Creek Road to Little Grizzly Mountain but was lifted Saturday afternoon.
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. The smoke has mostly remained north of Yosemite Valley, but changing winds have brought some haze and smoke to Yosemite Valley," the website read on Aug. 30.
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As extinguishing efforts continue, the city of San Francisco declared 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.
As a precautionary measure, the website stated that the amount of water delivery to the Bay Area was increased from 292 million gallons a day to 302 million gallons a day. That will maximize the amount of water stored locally.

While the majority of the activity occurs to the south, a thunderstorm erupting in the vicinity of the Rim Fire cannot be ruled out during Sunday afternoon.
Any rainfall would be beneficial, but the lightning and gusty winds accompanying any thunderstorm could hinder firefighting efforts.