The wildfire chewing up rugged land west of Yosemite National Park raged out of control Thursday, forcing hundreds of residents and visitors to clear out and authorities to cancel a popular bluegrass music festival planned for the Labor Day weekend.
As firefighters focused on protecting the small communities of Groveland and Pine Mountain Lake, officials gave a grim estimate of containment - 1 percent, down from 5 percent the day before. In all, the Rim Fire covered more than 98 square miles, making it one of the biggest blazes in the nation.
Facing dried-out hills, gusty canyon winds and nearly inaccessible terrain, a growing team of 1,800 firefighters struggled to make headway against the inferno, which began Saturday in a remote part of the Stanislaus National Forest near Groveland, a town of 600. The cause remains unknown.
About 2,500 structures remained threatened Thursday evening - nine structures have been destroyed so far - and the sky remained dark with smoke and ash. Some schools have been shut down for the week.
Highway 120, one of three main approaches to Yosemite from the west, was shut down near Groveland, and while the national park remains open and mostly smoke-free, officials said they were considering closing wilderness areas in the lower, western portion of park.
Gov. Jerry Brown issued a state of emergency in Tuolumne County on Thursday, a declaration that helps free up money and resources to fight the blaze. Brown acted after the fire's size rose sharply to 54,000 acres, up from an estimate of 16,000 acres the day before. The total late Thursday was 63,366.
"It's growing exponentially," said Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire found a new victim as well: the five-day Strawberry Music Festival, a bluegrass get-together that is one of the area's biggest events. Thousands of people flock to Camp Mather, San Francisco's campground outside Yosemite, twice a year - on Memorial and Labor Day weekends. They camp out, sing along to acts, and play their own music.
But organizers wrote Thursday on their website that Tuolumne County officials had ruled the event could not begin as scheduled Aug. 29 because of "the potential adverse effects of the wildfire on public health, safety and welfare.
[Sorce : http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fire-near-Yosemite-growing-exponentially-4752894.php ]
