Rim Fire Nearly 180,000 Acres

Published Aug 27, 2013 7:35 am

Tuolumne County, CA — The Rim Fire is now the seventh largest wildfire in California’s recorded history.

The fire is 179,481 acres. A statement this morning from CAL Fire Spokesperson Daniel Berlant reads, “Despite the Rim Fire’s continued growth near Yosemite National Park, firefighters are making progress with the fire now 20% contained. Over 3,700 firefighters have been working around the clock to create contingency lines in an effort to protect the thousands of homes that remained threatened along the Hwy 108 corridor in Tuolumne County. With the assistance of hundreds of local fire departments from across the State, firefighters are making a stand to protect the 4,500 homes threatened. The Rim Fire has continued to grow further into the records book, this morning becoming the 7th largest wildfire in California’s recorded history.” 

It is now well past the 1987 Stanislaus Complex Fire that scorched over 146,000 acres.

(The CAL Fire video above was recorded yesterday, and has outdated acreage numbers)