Yosemite fire becomes fourth largest in California history as containment continues
A member of the Bureau of Land Management Silver State Hotshot crew from Elko, Nev., walks through a burn operation on the southern flank of the Rim Fire. (Image: Mike McMkillan, U.S. Forest Service, via AP)
theweathernetwork.com
Sunday, September 1, 2013, 6:27 PM -
The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park has become the fourth-largest conflagration in California history.
CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said Sunday that the 2-week-old Rim Fire claimed the spot as it grew to 901 square kilometres Saturday.
A 1932 blaze that scorche 891 square kilometres in Ventura County previously stood as the state's fourth-largest wildfire.
A 1105.93-sq. kilometre fire in San Diego County that killed 14 people a decade ago tops the list.
Although the current wildfire still is growing, fire officials say it was 40 per cent contained as of Sunday, up from 35 per cent a day earlier.
