With Rim Fire Near, A Look at Yosemite’s History With Fire
Yosemite is safe for now, but the Rim Fire is moving steadily closer.
Despite the efforts of more than 3,600 firefighters, the current so-called "Rim Fire" is only 15 percent contained and has led to the closure of Highway 120, a primary park entrance.
"There have been bigger portions of Yosemite burned in other fires, but there’s never been a fire as big as this one in Yosemite if you take the [Rim Fire] as a whole," explained Tom Medema, a spokesman with Yosemite National Park.
Other wildfires have burned closer to Yosemite Valley before, Medema noted. "The Meadow Fire of 2009 burned within just a couple miles of Yosemite Valley … and the A-Rock Fire [of 1990] was also much closer," he said in an interview Monday.
For now, the fire is confined to the
