RIM FIRE UPDATE FROM inciweb.org 7:00 p.m. August 28, 201

INCIDENT UPDATED 19 MIN. AGO

Approximate Location

37.857 latitude, -120.086 longitude

Incident Overview

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Fire Update as of August 28, 2013
Last night, firefighters conducted a burning operation from Paper Cabin Ridge down to the Tuolumne River and south from Duckwall Mountain to Skidmore. Crews secured fireline around spot fires in Reynolds Creek and dozers worked on constructing fireline north from Duckwall Mountain towards Fahey Meadow. In the southern part of the fire, crews secured the line near Pilot Ridge and near the border of Yosemite National Park. For today if conditions allow, crews are expected to begin a large burning operation from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir south to Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park in an effort to stop the spread of the fire to the east, as well as a burning operation from Highway 120 to Pilot Peak.

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Date of Origin	Saturday August 17th, 2013 approx. 03:15 PM
Location	Groveland Range District, Stanislaus NF
Incident Commander	Wilkins/lawshe

Current Situation

Total Personnel	4,537
Size	192,466 acres
Percent Contained	30%
Fuels Involved	Brush, Oaks, and Pine
Fire Behavior	Fire once again became very active in the afternoon. Running surface fire, torching, crown fire runs and spotting.
Significant Events	Mandatory evacuations south of Highway 120 and north of Old Yosemite Road. Closure of Tioga Road West of Yosemite Creek Picnic Area. Structure defense around Aspen Valley by ground and aerial resources was occurring in the afternoon. An evacuation advisory continues for areas on the Highway 108 corridor from Tuolumne City to Pinecrest. A Forest Closure is in effect for locations near and in advance of the fire. Several locations on the west side of Yosemite National Park have had closures implemented as a result of the fires spread. Contingency planning, indirect line construction and preparation to the east of Highway 108. Access and difficult terrain remain concerns for crews and equipment. Burnout operations were completed along the northwest edge of the fire near Paper Cabin Ridge.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Structure defense north and south of hwy 120 along the southeast edge of the fire from Pilot Ridge to Yosemite National Park. Continued direct and indirect line construction accompanied by burnout operations where accessibility and safety allows along the western edge of the fire. Continued contingency line construction along the northern edge of the fire in advance of the communities of Tuolumne City, Twain Harte and Long Barn. Mopup and contingency line construction in the southwestern edge of the fire. Direct line construction with burnout will continue along the northeastern edge of the fire where fire activity and safety allows. Large burnout operations are planned for the southeastern edge of the fire in Yosemite National Park.
Growth Potential	Extreme
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme
Remarks	Rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior continue to hamper suppression efforts. A significant utilization and reliance upon aerial resources with heavy air tankers including the VLAT DC-10 and MAFFS is occurring with structure defense preparation of locations in advance of the fires spread, control of spot fires and slowing the fires advancement through terrain inaccessible to ground resources to allow time for indirect line construction to be completed. Type 1 helicopters are providing point protection and cooling areas where direct line construction can be achieved safely. Approximately 4,500 structures remain threatened in advance of the fire on both the east and west. Fire is expected to continue its eastward spread farther into the west side of Yosemite National Park east of Aspen Valley. Several residents remain under mandatory evacuation in the Scotts Ridge area south of highway 120. Evacuation advisories issued to areas from Long Barn north to Pinecrest. Due to inaccessible steep terrain and extreme fire behavior suppression efforts on active portions of the fire are being significantly challenged. Heavy reliance on aviation resources has been critical in an effort to slow the fires progress to allow suppression resources to establish indirect control lines in areas where accessibility and safety can be achieved. The availability of heavy aircraft is pertinent to the success of suppression efforts.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions	17 mph SW
Temperature	87 degrees
Humidity	22%