State of Emergency Declared for SF due to RIM FIRE

Rim Fire an “imminent threat to critical infrastructure assets”; Gov declares State of Emergency for SF

The ferocious wildfire that began on August 17 and has been burning out of control in Tuolumne County forced California Gov. Brown to declare a state of emergency 190 miles away in San Francisco late Friday.

The governor said he declared the emergency due to the damage  caused to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco.

Rim Fire had consumed about 126,000 acres (470 km²), as of Saturday, 24 August 2013 @ 05:00UTC, and the blaze continued to grow explosively, as it crossed into Yosemite National Park, burning at least 11,000 acres there.

San Francisco was forced to shut down two of its three hydroelectric power stations in the area due to the fire, according to local reports.

The City gets about 85 percent of its water from Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Yosemite area, just 3 miles from the current fire boundary.

Highlights of the Governor’s Proclamation

The wildfires that started in Tuolumne County have caused damage to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco, and now threaten damage to property, equipment, and resources of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, said  Calif. Governor Brown in his state of emergency proclamation for the City and County of San Francisco.

As a result, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has been forced to shut down transmission lines with the result that the City and County is affected by the wildfires in the County of Tuolumne and is likely to be further affected should the fire cause additional damage to the City and County of San Francisco’s water and electrical assets in Tuolumne County, including the possible temporary interruption of electricity and/or water delivery.

Due to the imminent threat to critical infrastructure assets, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission declared an emergency, and the City and County of San Francisco declared a local emergency and requested that I proclaim a state of emergency …, said Gov Brown as he signed the Proclamation, declaring a state of emergency in the City and County of San Francisco.

Rim Fire Photo 6. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

The massive fire has so far destroyed at least four homes and a dozen outbuildings in different areas, and was threatening more than 5,500 residences, said the USFS.

Related Links

• RIM FIRE Crosses into Yosemite National Park August 24, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes August 23, 2013
• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013

RIM FIRE Crosses into Yosemite National Park

UPDATED: Saturday, 24 August 2013 @ 05:00UTC

The 126,000-acre (470 km²) fire continues to grow explosively

RIM FIRE continues to grow explosively burning east and has crossed the Yosemite National Park (YNP) boundary, consuming at least 11,000 acres at the edge of the park by Friday afternoon. The fire also continues burning west toward the community of Pine Mountain Lake.

The blaze is actively growing to the north of the Duckwall area and up Kibbie Ridge, southeast, and east. The fire burned actively throughout the night, said Inciweb.

In the next 24 hours the fire is expected to continue up the Tuolumne River canyon, and continue its spread to the north and east.

The fire continues to increase in size and actively through the day and night. It continues to exhibit very large fire growth due to extremely dry fuels and inaccessible terrain.

Fire behavior was very active today with very rapid rates of spread, running surface fire, torching, passive crowning and long range spotting occurring in most all areas of the fire.

Rim Fire burning up Tuolumne River canyon. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

State of Emergency Declared in Tuolumne County

California Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency in Tuolumne County on Thursday due to Rim Fire, one of about 20 fires burning in California. Some 5 dozen major fires are currently burning across the western U.S.

Fire from Hell

Night Photo of The Rim Fire. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Evacuation Advisory for The City of Tuolumne and Ponderosa Hills

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation advisory for the City of Tuolumne and Ponderosa Hills.

The blaze started Saturday August 17, 2013 and as of early Saturday it had consumed at least 125,620 acres, with about 5% containment and 2,672 personnel deployed.

The fire is now threatening at least 4,500 homes, up from 2,500 two days ago, and additional undisclosed number of homes were under mandatory evacuations, as of posting.

Officials have closed Highway 120, one of four access routes to YNP, located about 320 km south of San Francisco. More than 4 million people visit the park annually.

Rim Fire Photo 2. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Related Links

• State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes August 23, 2013

• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013