The Rim Fire Increases by 5,000 Acres

Tuolumne County, CA — The Rim fire is now 252,156 acres and still 80% contained. Firefighters on the scene remain 3,457 at a cost of $89.2 million dollars to date.

Incident Command reported crews last night were conducting limited burning operations from hand-lines and natural barriers along the Tioga Road. Mop-up and hazard tree mitigation also continued as crews work to strengthen control lines. Resources implemented firing operations inside existing containment lines in order to further consume unburned fuels and strengthen containment of the northwestern portion of the fire perimeter.

Highway 120 between Groveland and Yosemite is opened once again. Caltrans reports it fixed about 1,000 burnt guard rails and brought down 1,800 scorched trees along the roadway. Also, the Air Quality Alert for Tuolumne County has been extended to Monday at Noon.

Fire Officials report Highway 120/Tioga Road remains closed from Crane Flat to one half mile east of White Wolf. Park visitors can access Tuolumne Meadows from SR-395 via the park entrance at Tioga Pass. Cherry Lake Road is closed at State Route 120. Evergreen Road and Old Yosemite Road are also closed. There are currently no mandatory or advisory evacuation orders effective in Mariposa or Tuolumne Counties however there are roads that remain closed.

Officials are still estimating that the fire will be fully contained on September 20th. Thursday it was announced that the Rim Fire was started by a hunter that allowed an illegal fire to get out of control. The Rim Fire is The Rim Fire is now the third largest fire in California’s recorded history passing the 2007 Zaca Fire in Santa Barbara County by just over 6-thousand acres. The fire that burned the most acreage in California on record was the Cedar Fire in San Diego County with a total of 273,246 acres.