Rim Fire Devastates Area Surrounding Yosemite

August 26, 2013 – An enormous wildfire, one of the biggest in California’s history, is ravaging thousands of acres of pristine forest west of Yosemite National Park.  Since August 17, the blaze has engulfed 143,000 acres and continues to grow larger by the day.  At least 2,800 firefighters and a handful of aircraft have been dispatched to fight the fire – so far only 7% of the blaze has been contained.

Last Thursday, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a state of emergency for Tuolumne County.  Several towns, including Tuolumne and Mi-Wuk Village, face evacuation advisories.  Friday, Governor Brown issued a second state of emergency for San Francisco and San Francisco County, citing the forced shut-down of the city’s power utilities due to electrical infrastructure damage.  Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire.

For updates on the Rim Fire, visit http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3660/‘

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